Twin Power
by MagzieM98
Summary: Cassia Potter is the twin sister of Harry Potter. Having been separated after they both survived the Killing Curse, neither knew they had a sibling. But 11 years later, a chance meeting in Diagon Alley reveals everything. At Hogwarts, they discover much more than magic and friendship. And what happens when a certain Hufflepuff boy takes a liking to Cassia?
1. Prologue

For Muggle and wizarding families alike, Halloween was a time for celebration, filled with magic, mischief, and of course, candy. But on this particular Halloween night, people would be celebrating for an entirely different reason; October 31st, 1981 would soon go down in history as a day of triumph, the day an evil man met his end. Unfortunately, like all victories, this victory came with a great cost; the ones who defeated him, a pair of infant twins, were orphaned.

The Halloween festivities in Godric's Hollow had long since ended by now. Almost all of the houses in the neighborhood had turned their lights off, as it was almost ten o'clock at night. Rain poured down hard from the skies above, and simultaneously, the wind began to pick up, creating a sense of foreboding in the air. A hooded figure, dressed all in black, was making his way through the streets, that sense of purpose and power and rightness in him that he always knew on these occasions...Not anger...that was for weaker souls than he...but triumph, yes...He had waited for this, he had hoped for it...

Gathered in the living room of their house, blissfully unaware of the imminent danger soon to strike, were the Potter family. James, a tall man with messy black hair and hazel eyes that shone with mischief behind round glasses, made puffs of colored smoke erupt from his wand for the amusement of his children. They were laughing and trying to catch the smoke, to grab it in their small fists...

Just over a year ago, James' wife Lily had given birth to twins, one boy and one girl. The boy was named Harry James Potter, and the girl was named Cassia Helena Potter. When choosing her daughter's name, Lily drew inspiration from Rowena Ravenclaw - the founder of Ravenclaw house had had a daughter whom she named Helena, but was more commonly referred to as the Grey Lady.

Lily entered the room and leaned against the doorway, smiling as she watched her husband entertain the twins. Her dark red hair, which had previously been tied up into a messy bun, now fell past her shoulders; the scarlet hue contrasted greatly with her emerald-green eyes. "I swear, James, you and Sirius spoil those two rotten," she remarked, accidentally scaring James.

James jumped in surprise, the wand slipping from his hand and dropping to the floor. This sudden action caused the twins to giggle. He sighed in relief once he turned around and saw his wife was behind him.

"Sorry," Lily apologized, covering her mouth to stifle her own laughter.

Playfully shaking his head at her, James picked his wand up and placed it on the couch, before picking up his daughter and cradling her in his arms, while Lily scooped Harry up and rocked him back and forth. Harry looked almost exactly like James, except for the color of his eyes. Similarly, Cassia was almost a splitting image of Lily, but unlike Lily, Cassia had her father's dark hair. As most fathers do, James loved to boast about his daughter's beauty, and often said she would grow up to be as beautiful as her mother.

Lily cleared her throat with her free hand. "All jokes aside, I think it's bedtime for these two." A yawn from Harry confirmed her words.

"Yeah, you're probably right," James reluctantly agreed. He followed his wife as she climbed the stairs and entered the nursery, where they each placed a kiss on the tops of Harry and Cassia's heads, and then placed them into the crib. No sooner had they done so than a creaking noise could be heard from outside.

Lily was both curious and startled by the sudden creaking. "What was that?" she wondered.

"I'm not sure," James replied, having also been alerted to the noise. "Stay here. I'll go check it out." He left the nursery and descended the stairs. As much as Lily wanted to argue, she knew it was futile. James was only looking out for her and their family.

As James came down the stairs, the front door burst open. He paled once he saw the hooded figure that had entered the house. "Lily, take Harry and Cassia and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!" he called up to Lily.

Hold him off, without a wand in his hand!...The hooded figure laughed before casting the curse...

" _Avada Kedavra_!"

The green light filled the cramped hallway, it lit the pram pushed against the wall, it made the banisters glare like lightning rods, and James Potter fell like a marionette whose strings were cut...

Lily knew she was trapped. Her husband was dead, meaning it was far too late for her to try Apparating out of the cottage. Even worse, she didn't have her wand on her. Thinking quickly, she created a makeshift barricade using a chair and several filled-up boxes and pushed them against the door. She then knelt in front of the crib, facing her children for what she knew would be the last time she ever saw them.

"Harry, Cassia, you are so loved. So loved. Mama loves you, Dada loves you," she whispered. "Be safe, my darlings." She put a hand up to the bars. "Be strong. Protect each other."

The murderer forced the door open, cast aside the chairs and boxes hastily piled against it with one lazy wave of his wand...and there she stood, her arms thrown wide, as if this would help, as if in shielding the twins from sight she hoped to be chosen instead...

"Not Harry and Cassia, not them, please not them!"

"Stand aside, you silly girl...stand aside, now."

"Not them, please no, take me, kill me instead -"

"This is my last warning -"

"Not them! Please...have mercy...have mercy...Not my children! Please - I'll do anything -"

"Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!"

He could have forced her away from the crib, but it seemed more prudent to finish them all...

The green light flashed around the room and with a final, bloodcurdling scream, she dropped like her husband. The children had not cried all this time: the boy could stand, clutching the bars of the crib, and he looked up into the intruder's face with a kind of bright interest, perhaps thinking that it was their father who hid behind the cloak, making more pretty lights, and their mother would pop up any moment, laughing -

He pointed the wand very carefully into the children's faces: He wanted to see it happen, the destruction of this one, inexplicable danger. The little girl remained sitting as she stared at him, her eyes wide with fear.

Her brother began to cry: He had seen that the man in front of them was not James. He scooted as close to his sister as possible. Tears brimmed in Cassia's eyes as she reached a tiny arm out, taking Harry's hand and holding it tightly.

The man did not like either of them crying, he had never been able to stomach the small ones whining in the orphanage -

" _Avada Kedavra_!"

And then he broke: He was nothing, nothing but pain and terror, and he must hide himself, not here in the rubble of the ruined house, where the children were trapped and screaming, but far away...far away...

* * *

Late at night, in the town of Little Whinging, a grey tabby was perched up on the wall, showing no signs of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.

A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.

Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.

Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something.

He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He clicked it again - the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the tabby cat sitting on the brick wall near number 4 Privet Drive. If anyone looked out the window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. As Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak, the cat let out a meow, attracting his attention. "I should have known that you would be here, Professor McGonagall," he said, making eye contact with the feline.

The cat moved to stand up on all fours, and leapt off the wall. Within seconds, it had gone. In its place was a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled.

"Good evening, Professor Dumbledore," she greeted.

"I'm afraid so, Professor," Dumbledore replied in a grave tone. "The good, and the bad."

"And the children? How are they getting here?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry and Cassia underneath it.

"Hagrid is bringing them."

"You think it - wise - to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"

"Ah, Professor, I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.

"I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to - what was that?"

A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky - and a huge motorcycle fell out of thin air and landed on the road in front of them.

If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild - long tangles of bushy black hair and beard his most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding two bundles of blankets, but instead of the typical blue and pink, the blankets were red and yellow.

"Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"

"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got 'em, sir."

"No problems, I trust?"

"No, sir - house was almost destroyed, but I got 'em out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. Little tykes fell asleep just as we were flyin' over Bristol."

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the two bundles of blankets. Inside, just visible, were a baby boy and girl, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet black hair over the boy's forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning. An identical cut, not obstructed by her hair, marked the forehead of the baby girl.

"Is that where -?" whispered Professor McGonagall.

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "They'll have those scars forever."

"Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"

"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground. Well - give him here, Hagrid - we'd better get this over with."

Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house.

"Could I - could I say good-bye to them, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and Cassia and gave them each what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.

"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, taking Cassia in her own arms, "You'll wake the Muggles!"

"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it - Lily an' James dead - an' their poor little children split up-"

"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm before briskly walking to catch up to Dumbledore as he walked to the front door. "Albus, do you really think it's safe, separating them and leaving the boy with these people? I've watched them all day. They're the worst sort of Muggles imaginable. They really are."

"It would be ideal to have Cassia remain with Harry, since their aunt and uncle are the only family they have left, but she was born with very rare and powerful magic, magic coveted by many dark wizards, including Voldemort himself. For both her brother's safety and her own, she must be moved somewhere else."

"But who will take her in? Remus has refused because of his condition, and Sirius' whereabouts are unknown."

"Edward and Andromeda. I have already informed them of the circumstances, and they have graciously agreed to become her legal guardians."

"These children will be famous! There won't be a child in our world who doesn't know their names," said Professor McGonagall.

"Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "They're far better off growing up away from all of that, and each other...until they are ready."

Hagrid sniffled, fighting back tears as he watched Harry be set down gently on the doorstep, and when Professor McGonagall handed Cassia to Dumbledore.

"There, there, Hagrid," said Dumbledore, "It's not really goodbye, after all." He took a letter out of his cloak and placed it atop Harry's blankets.

"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall - Professor Dumbledore, sir."

Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine to life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.

"I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.

Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of red blankets on the step of number four. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.

A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay still and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing that he was special, not knowing that he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley...or that he would grow up not remembering that he had a twin sister.

* * *

With a small cracking sound, Dumbledore reappeared in front of the Tonks' house, situated on the coast of Ramsgate; a picturesque, seaside town in the district of Thanet, in east Kent - far away from Little Whinging. The house, painted a dark shade of blue, was two stories high. Both the front door and window shutters were completely white. An ornate, circular knocker rested on the door. Dumbledore approached the house and knocked on the door three times.

Ted - a fair-haired, big-bellied man - rushed down the stairs and opened the door. He gave a sad smile as he saw Dumbledore had arrived with baby Cassia. His hair color changed to a deep blue, indicating that he was a Metamorphagus; a witch or wizard with the ability to change their appearance whenever they pleased.

His wife, Andromeda, appeared behind him. Once a member of the Black family, Andromeda was disowned and burned off the family tapestry for marrying Ted, the sole reason being that Ted was Muggle-born. She bore a strong resemblance to her older sister Bellatrix, the evil Lord Voldemort's second-in-command, but her hair was a light soft brown, and her eyes were wider and kinder.

"I sincerely apologize for telling you on such short notice, Andromeda," said Dumbledore, "but her godfather is missing and Remus Lupin has refused to take her in."

Andromeda shook her head, reaching out and gently taking Cassia from him.

"Don't worry about it, Headmaster," Ted piped up. "There's room enough in here. Besides, I think our daughter would enjoy having a little sister."

Dumbledore nodded, smiling as he did. "Yes, I think so." His voice became serious again. "You haven't forgotten about the details of our agreement, I hope?"

"No, we haven't," said Andromeda. The agreement was that, when Andromeda and her husband took Cassia into their care, they were to raise her as if she were their own, but they could not tell her about her parents' death or Harry until her eleventh birthday.

Dumbledore nodded again. "Well, then, that's that. I may as well go and enjoy the celebrations. Andromeda, Edward, goodnight. I trust I will see Cassia soon." He shook hands with them and walked away from the house.

"Goodnight," Ted and Andromeda each called out to him.

Andromeda closed the door and, accompanied by her husband, journeyed back up the stairs and entered their daughter Nymphadora's room, which would now also serve as a nursery. There, they placed her into a white-painted crib, kissed her on the forehead, and left her to sleep.

Dumbledore stopped in the middle of the town and turned his eyes first to the horizon, and then back toward the Tonks' house. "Good luck, Harry and Cassia Potter," he murmured. With that, he turned on his heel once more and vanished into the night.

Cassia would also grow up unaware that she was special. What magic did she possess that made her a target for dark wizards? She would never know...for the time being, at least.

They couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry and Cassia Potter - the children who lived!"


	2. 10 years later

**Harry's POV**

I hated living with the Dursleys with a burning passion. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon treated me like rubbish; the only clothes I had were hand-me-downs from my fat cousin Dudley, I was forced to do all of the housework, I had gone countless nights without meals, and until recently, my bedroom consisted of a tiny cupboard underneath the stairs. The worst thing about living with the Dursleys was that they always looked at me like I was some type of horrible disease. I never dared to ask why - I never asked my aunt and uncle anything. Don't ask questions - that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.

Having strange things happen around me didn't help. I always tried to tell the Dursleys that I didn't make them happen, but they didn't believe me.

Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of me coming back from the barbers looking as though I hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of scissors and cut my hair so short I was almost bald except for my bangs, which she left to "hide that horrible scar". Dudley had laughed himself silly at me, while I spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where I was already laughed at for my baggy clothes and taped glasses. Next morning, however, I had gotten up to find my hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off. I had been given a week in my cupboard for this, even though I had tried to explain that I couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.

Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force me into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls). The harder she tried to pull it over my head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit me. Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to my great relief, I wasn't punished.

On the other hand, I'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing me as usual when, as much to my surprise as anyone else's, there I was sitting on the chimney. The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from my headmistress telling them I had been climbing school buildings. But all I'd tried to do (as I shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of my cupboard) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. I supposed that the wind must have caught me in mid-jump.

The worst of these incidents happened on Dudley's birthday.

 _Our elderly neighbor, Mrs. Figg, had unfortunately broken her leg. Because of this, I was finally allowed to go on of Dudley's annual birthday excursions - every year, on his birthday, my aunt and uncle took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies, while I was left behind with Mrs. Figg. I hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and she made me look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned. I felt sorry for Mrs. Figg, but at the same time I was relieved because it would be a whole year before I had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again._

 _This year, we were going to the zoo. I had the best morning I had in a long time. I was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting me. We ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and I was allowed to finish the first._

 _I felt, afterward, that I should have known it was all too good to last._

 _After lunch we went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can - but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep._

 _Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils._

 _"Make it move," he whined._

 _Uncle Vernon looked up from the pamphlet he had been reading, and tapped on the glass. "Move," he ordered. The snake didn't budge._

 _Dudley banged on the glass with his fist. "Move!" he yelled, but the snake just snoozed on._

 _"He's asleep," I snapped._

 _Dudley huffed. "He's boring..." He shuffled away, with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon trailing behind him._

 _I sighed, turning my eyes back to the snake. "Sorry about him. He doesn't understand what it's like; lying there, day after day, watching people press their ugly faces in on you..."_

 _The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with mine._

 _"Can you hear me?" I asked. The snake flickered its tongue as it nodded._

 _I couldn't believe it. "It's just...I've never talked to a snake before. Do you - er, do you talk to people often?" This time, the snake shook its head._

 _"You're from Burma, aren't you?" I asked, remembering from the informational sign on the wall that this was a Burmese python. "Was it nice there? Do you miss your family?" In response, the snake nodded back toward the sign. At the very bottom, it said 'Bred in captivity'._

 _"I see. That's me as well. I never knew my parents, either," I said._

 _"Mummy, Dad, come here! You won't believe what this snake is doing!" Dudley yelled, running back over. He pushed me aside, knocking me to the floor, and put his hands up against the glass, staring at the python in wonder._

 _I was annoyed with Dudley pushing me around like he always did, but that turned into surprise when the glass surrounding the Burmese python enclosure suddenly vanished. Dudley fell over the railing and into the enclosure, while the snake slithered out and dropped to the ground, right in front of me._

 _"Thanksss," it hissed._

 _"Any time," I said, unable to say much else since I was still in shock. Did I somehow make the glass disappear? I doubted it; glass doesn't just disappear. And even if it had been me, how could I have managed to pull that off?_

 _The snake flickered its tongue at me again before slithering out of the zoo, causing a panic. People screamed in fright and ran as far away as their legs would carry them._

 _Dudley stood up on his feet and was about to get out of the enclosure, but unfortunately for him, the glass had reappeared, trapping him inside. He banged on the glass, crying "Mum! Mummy!"_

 _Aunt Petunia screamed once she saw what had happened to him. Seeing my cousin in this situation, after years of using me as a punching bag, was pretty funny, but I stopped laughing the second I saw the angry look on Uncle Vernon's face. The minute we returned to the house, he locked me in my cupboard for a week, without any meals._

Weeks later, mysterious letters started appearing in the mail, with my name on the envelopes. For some odd reason, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia didn't want me to read them. Ignoring the letters did no good, because they kept coming. I was eventually moved into Dudley's second bedroom, which was filled with toys that my cousin couldn't fit into his own room. Most of these toys were broken.

But my having a different place to sleep didn't stop the letters being mailed. I tried sneaking downstairs early in the morning so I'd be the first to grab the mail, but Uncle Vernon was one step ahead of me - he had camped out in the hallway so I couldn't take my letters up to my room and read them. When that didn't work, he boarded up the mail slot, but the letters just kept coming; Aunt Petunia found them in the milk bottles, and hidden inside egg cartons in the icebox. Uncle Vernon burned these letters on the fire.

One day, he was in a particularly good mood because it was Sunday, meaning there would be no mail, but he became very angry when hundreds of letters came zooming down the chimney and into the parlor. Uncle Vernon decided he'd had enough, that we were going far away, where the people sending the letters wouldn't be able to track us.

That's how we ended up in this broken-down shack, which was sitting on top of a rock, in the middle of the open sea. The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were sleeping in the bedroom upstairs, but Dudley had a makeshift bed on the sofa. I was left to find the softest bit of floor I could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.

A storm had hit once night fell. It raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. I couldn't sleep. My birthday was coming soon...in just a few short minutes, actually. I spent that time drawing a birthday cake for myself in the sandy floor. As soon as I was done topping my "cake" with eleven candles, I glanced at Dudley's watch. It beeped several times, indicating that it was now midnight.

"Make a wish, Harry," I whispered to myself, before "blowing" out the candles.

BOOM.

The whole shack shivered and I sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in...

BOOM. They knocked again.

I jumped to my feet and ran behind a section of the wall, hiding myself from the intruder's sight.

Uncle Vernon came downstairs, carrying a loaded rifle. "Who's there?" he asked. Aunt Petunia clung tightly to his arm, just as frightened as he was. The noise had also woken Dudley, who was pressing his back against the couch, trying to make himself seem smaller.

There was a pause. Then -

SMASH!

The door was hit with such a force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.

A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.

The giant squeezed into the hut, stopping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. "Sorry 'bout that," he apologized. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little.

"I demand that you leave at once, sir!" Uncle Vernon snapped. "You are breaking and entering!" Even though he tried to sound intimidating, he still looked scared out of his mind.

The giant walked right up to Uncle Vernon, glaring daggers at him. "Dry up, Dursley, yeh great prune." He bent the gun so that the muzzle was pointed upward. When Uncle Vernon pulled the trigger, a hole was blasted in the ceiling.

"Well, I haven't seen yeh since yeh was a baby, Harry," the giant said, his eyes now on Dudley, "but yer a bit more along than I would've expected, particularly right in the middle." He put a hand on his stomach to make his point.

"I-I-I-I'm not Harry," Dudley stammered.

Steeling my nerves, I came out from behind the wall. "I-I am."

"Well, of course you are," the giant remarked. "Got summat for yeh. 'Fraid I mighta sat on it at some point, but I imagine it'll taste fine just the same." From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. "Baked it myself, words an' all."

I opened the box with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday, Harry & Cassia written on it in green icing. "Thank you..." I said, looking back up at the giant.

He smiled. "'S not every day yer young man turns eleven, now, is it? Eh?" He sat down on the couch and took out a pink umbrella; he pointed it at the grate, and immediately there was a roaring fire. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and I felt the warmth wash over me as though I'd sunk into a hot bath.

I looked up from the box holding mine and Cassia's - whoever she was - birthday cake, setting it down on a nearby table. I made eye contact with the giant again. "Excuse me, but...who are you?"

"Rubeus Hagrid," he introduced himself, "Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. 'Course yeh'll know all about Hogwarts."

I shook my head. "Sorry...no."

"No?" Hagrid sounded surprised. "Blimey, Harry, didn't yeh ever wonder where yer mum and dad learned it all?"

"Learned what?" I asked. _What was he talking about?_

"Yer a wizard, Harry," Hagrid spoke after a moment's pause.

I looked at him like he was crazy. "I-I'm a what?"

"A wizard," Hagrid repeated, "And a thumpin' good one, I'd wager, once yeh've trained up a little."

"I'm sorry, but you've made a mistake," I apologized, shaking my head again. "I can't be a...a...a wizard. I mean, I'm just...Harry. Just Harry."

"Well, Just Harry, did yeh ever make anything happen? Anything yeh couldn't explain when yeh were angry or - or scared?"

I looked into the fire. Now I came to think about it...every odd thing that had ever made my aunt and uncle curious with me had happened when I, Harry, had been upset or angry...chased by Dudley's gang, I had somehow found myself out of their reach...dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, I'd managed to make it grow back...and the very last time Dudley had hit me, hadn't I got my revenge, without even realizing I was doing it? Hadn't I set a snake on him?

Hagrid reached into his jacket again, but this time he pulled out a cream-colored envelope, with my name on it in bright green ink. I opened the envelope and read the letter inside, out loud. " _Dear Mr. Potter, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_."

Uncle Vernon waddled forward and snatched the letter from my hands. "He will not be going!" he snapped. "We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to all this rubbish!" Wait...what?!

"You knew?" I questioned. I didn't know whether to feel confused or angry; I kept going back and forth between the two. "You knew all along and you never told me?!"

"Of course we knew!" Aunt Petunia hissed. "How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that - that school - and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was - a freak! But for my mother and father, oh, no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"

She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.

"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be the same, just as strange, just as - abnormal - and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"

I had gone very white. As soon as I found my voice I said, "Blown up? You told me my parents died in a car crash!"

"A car crash?!" Hagrid echoed in disbelief. "A car crash, kill Lily and James Potter?!"

"We had to say something." As Aunt Petunia spoke, I saw Dudley sneak past her and grab the box containing my cake, taking it to the other side of the room and using a single fork to eat it, bit by bit.

"It's an outrage! It's a scandal!" Hagrid barked.

"He will not be going." Uncle Vernon was adamant.

Hagrid chuckled. "And I suppose a great Muggle like yerself's gonna try and stop him, are yeh?"

"Muggle?" I echoed, looking up at Hagrid in confusion.

"Non-magic folk," Hagrid whispered, before turning his attention back on my aunt and uncle. "Look, this boy's had his name down ever since he were born! He's goin' ter the finest school o' Witchcraft 'n' Wizardry in the world, _and_ he'll be under the finest headmaster that Hogwarts has ever seen, Albus Dumbledore."

"I will not pay to have some crackpot old fool teach him magic tricks!" Uncle Vernon just about yelled.

But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and pointed it at Uncle Vernon. "Never -" he whispered in a calm but terrifying voice, "- insult - Albus Dumbledore - in front of me." He eyed Dudley, who was still stuffing his face with cake, and pointed his umbrella at his rear end - there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and then I saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in Dudley's trousers. Dudley turned around to see what had happened, and screamed. So did Aunt Petunia, and even Uncle Vernon. I had to fight back a laugh as I watched them all run from the room. Seeing my cousin with a pig's tail was just hilarious!

Hagrid cast a sideways look at me under his bushy eyebrows.

"Appreciate it if yeh didn't tell anyone at Hogwarts about that," he said. "Strictly speakin', I'm not supposed ter do magic." He pulled out a small, golden pocket watch and his eyes widened when he saw the time. "Well, we're a bit behind schedule. Best be off."

With one push, he knocked the door down again. It fell forward, looking like a drawbridge leading out of a castle.

"Unless yeh'd rather stay, o'course," Hagrid added, glancing back at me.

Not wanting to miss a chance to escape my miserable life, I dashed out the door right after him. Just one question remained on my mind - who was Cassia?

* * *

 **Cassia's** **POV**

I opened my eyes, stretching my arms above my head as I did. Sunlight filtered through the windows, brightening up the whole room. One window had been left open, because summers here in Ramsgate were pretty warm. At the most, we averaged 71 degrees from July to August.

A delicious smell filled my nostrils, and I jumped out of my bed once I realized what it was - blueberry pancakes with a side of ham, my favorite breakfast! I raced downstairs to find Dad standing by the cooktop, spatula in hand. His hair was a bright yellowish-green, which meant he was in a happy mood.

"Good morning, sweetheart," he said, leaning down to kiss me on the cheek. "And happy birthday."

Mum entered the kitchen and gave me a hug with one arm; she had just been emptying the mailbox, and she had several papers in her hand. "Happy birthday, darling."

"Thank you, both of you," I replied, hugging her first and then Dad.

Part of me thought I was still dreaming - I was finally eleven years old, which means I'd be getting an acceptance letter from Hogwarts. My sister, Dora, had just graduated last year, and was finishing up her training to be an Auror. Her hair glowed a bright yellow, signaling she was feeling as happy as me. Yeah, she gets her Metamorphagus ability from Dad.

I eagerly took a seat at the kitchen table, and Dad set a plate of pancakes and ham in front of me. As I was drizzling my pancakes with syrup, I heard a small crack. It was Dora; she must have just gotten finished with her last training session with Mad-Eye Moody, who was her mentor. She had just Apparated into the house.

Mum sighed in relief. "Thank goodness you're here. How did it go?"

"Good, Mad-Eye told me I'd be starting assignments soon," Dora replied, giving both Mum and Dad a hug.

"That's wonderful, dear!" Dad complimented.

Dora nodded. "We can celebrate that tomorrow. Today is Cassia's day." She rushed over to me and gave me a hug from behind. "Happy birthday!"

"I hope you're hungry, Dora. Your father made pancakes," Mum told her.

"Thanks, I'm starved," Dora replied. She kissed Dad on the cheek as he served her a plate, and he smiled at both of us in return. "So what house do you want to be in, when you go to Hogwarts?"

I shrugged. "I'm hoping for either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, but I don't care which. As long as it's not Slytherin."

"Speaking of Hogwarts houses, Cassia, guess what came in the mail for you today?" Mum asked, coming over to join us at the table. She handed me an envelope, addressed to me. I opened it, pulled out the letter inside, and read it silently to myself, with both of my parents looking over my shoulders.

 _Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_  
 _Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_  
 _Order of Merlin, First Class, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugawump_

 _Dear Miss Potter,_

 _We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of the necessary supplies. Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl by no later than July 31st._

 _Sincerely,_  
 _Minerva McGonagall_  
 _Deputy Headmistress_

Dora grinned. "I knew it. I knew they'd accept you - they'd be idiots if they didn't. Your magic started to show when you were three!" She wasn't wrong. At three years old, I somehow managed to cause a power surge. We didn't have electricity for almost two days. I thought my parents would be angry, but they weren't. They were excited because this indicated that my magical abilities were showing. It didn't come as much of a shock to me, when they told me I was a witch; I'd seen my parents _and_ Dora performing magic on several occasions, though they were careful never to do it outside the house.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small box - she pointed her wand at it and whispered, " _Engorgio_ ", making the box grow until it was big enough to hold a pair of shoes. "I got this for you on my way home, Cassi."

"What is it?" I asked, looking at the box. It wasn't wrapped, but there was a purple ribbon that had been magically glued to the lid.

"Open it and you'll see," Dora encouraged.

When I lifted the lid, I saw the most adorable kitten looking up at me. "Oh, my gosh..." I recognized the breed as a calico, meaning its fur was a mix of black, white, and orange.

"She's my birthday present to you," Dora said. "What are you going to name her?"

I thought hard about it, and soon the perfect name popped into my head. "Ivy."

"That's a very unique name," Dora complimented. "How did you think of it?"

"Well, ivy is one of those kinds of plants that has a bad reputation. Not many people like it because poison ivy can give you an itchy rash if you touch it. But when you look at ivy, it's actually very beautiful. Like when you see it on the wall of a house, know what I mean?"

Dora nodded. "Yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about. By the way, I think I still have my old books from when I was at Hogwarts, and my old trunk. You can have those, if you want to. It'll save you time getting the rest of your supplies."

I set Ivy in my lap and hugged Dora tightly. "Oh, Dora, thank you so much!"

She hugged me back. "You don't need to thank me. What kind of sister would I be if I didn't help you?"

Dad sat down across from me. "After you finish your breakfast, Dora can take you upstairs and search for her books. It's alright if she didn't keep them; we can always get them in Diagon Alley. We'll need to go there anyway to get your wand, robes, and everything else you'll need for classes. But first, there's - there's something your mother and I have to tell you. The truth is, Cassia, we're - we're not really your parents."

"W-What?" Dora's hair turned white; she was as shocked as I was.

"Y-You're not?" I asked.

Mum shook her head. "You were adopted. Your real parents were Lily and James Potter."

It took a few moments for my brain to fully register this information. "W-What happened to them, my real mum and dad?"

Tears brimmed in my adoptive mother's eyes. "They passed away. Ten years ago, an evil wizard...Voldemort...hunted your family down. He found you in Godric's Hollow and - and killed your parents. But for some reason, he couldn't kill you. That's why you have that scar."

I reached up to touch the lightning bolt-shaped scar that sat on my forehead. Tears welled in my eyes, but I blinked them away. "So I survived..."

"Not just you." It was Dad's turn to speak. "Your twin brother, Harry, survived as well." _Whoa, whoa, whoa! I have a twin?!_

"Wait, I was adopted and I'm not an only child?!" I questioned. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We couldn't. When Dumbledore asked us to become your legal guardians, he told us that we were not permitted to tell you the truth about your parents, or your brother, until your eleventh birthday," Dad explained.

At first I didn't know whether to believe them or not, but then I asked myself, _adoptive or not, would my parents ever lie to me?_ No. They would never make up something like this.

"I believe you," I finally told them. "Where is my brother now?"

"He was taken to live with your maternal aunt and uncle. Their house is in Little Whinging, miles away from here," my (adoptive) mother informed me.

"Does he know I'm his sister?" I asked.

"I'm not sure if he does," my adoptive father answered, "but, assuming he got his acceptance letter, you will more than likely see him at Hogwarts, if not on the train."

 _Oh, my Merlin._ I'm adopted, I have a twin brother, and an evil wizard tried to murder my entire family when I was only a baby? This was just too much to take in.


	3. Year 1: Diagon Alley

**Cassia's POV**

I finished the rest of my breakfast and then rushed back upstairs to my room. As I picked out my outfit for the day, questions filled my brain, all of them having to do with my brother. _What house would he be sorted into at Hogwarts? Would we look alike, or were we fraternal twins? When would I meet him? Would he - would he like me? Would we get along?_

I turned on the shower, stripped off my pajamas, and stepped in, forgetting to test the water. Big mistake - it was way too hot. I quickly turned the knob to the right, making the water colder. After a few seconds, I put my hand under the shower head to feel the water, and sighed in content. _Just right._

I washed my hair with my favorite jasmine-scented shampoo and conditioner, and scrubbed my body all over with soap. Once I was finished with my shower, I turned the water off and squeezed all the excess out of my hair. Then I grabbed my towel from where it hung on the shower curtain rod, wrapping it around myself. I stepped out of the bathroom and headed back into my room, closed the door behind me, and got dressed.

I pulled on my shoes and then rushed down the stairs, where my adoptive parents and sister were waiting for me.

"Here." 'Mum' handed me a small drawstring pouch. "I've placed an Undetectable Extension Charm on this bag. You can use it to hold some of your stuff after we buy it." She gave me a smaller bag. "And this is for your money."

"My money?" I echoed.

She nodded. "Your mother and father left you and Harry money in your will. You both have the same vault at Gringotts. This small bag I've given you is for the money you take out of said vault. I had Dora hold onto the key for safekeeping."

"Oh."

"Now hold on," 'Dad' said. We all joined hands. The room around me started to spin, making me dizzy. I felt the unpleasant sensation of being squeezed through a small tube, but thankfully it didn't last very long. Within two seconds, we had arrived at our destination.

I clung to Dora's arm, trying to steady myself. No matter how much experience I had, I doubted I'd be able to get used to Apparation. I still felt really dizzy, so I took some deep breaths. _In through your nose, out through your mouth_ , I told myself. Soon my head stopped spinning, and I was able to see clearly. We had Apparated into an alleyway, somewhere in the middle of London.

"Wait...I thought we were going to Diagon Alley," I said.

'Mum' smiled. "We are. I just thought we'd take a little detour." She led us out of the alleyway, and we walked on the sidewalk. Muggles rushed around left and right. Everyone had somewhere they needed to get to.

As we made our way through the throngs of people, I heard Dora shout, "There!" She pointed to a small pub in the distance, The Leaky Cauldron. I could see the sign from far away - it was literally in the shape of a giant cauldron.

For a famous place, it was very shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when we walked in.

The bartender dropped the glass he'd been polishing once he saw me. "Oh, dear Merlin," he breathed. "Is that - can it be -?"

He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward me and seized my hand. "Welcome back, Miss Potter. Having both twins drop by in the same day...what an honor!"

"My brother was in here?" I questioned.

"Indeed," he replied, shaking my hand feverishly. "He and Hagrid passed through here just before you!" It seemed like he'd set off a chain reaction - everyone in the pub came forward to shake my hand.

Finally, there was one person left. A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. He wore dark purple robes, and a similar but lighter-colored turban was wrapped around his head. I noticed one of his eyes was twitching. "Q-Quite a day for me, this is, M-Miss P-P-Potter, meeting your b-brother first, and n-now you," he remarked. "Oh, w-where are my m-m-manners?" He gave a timid smile. "P-Professor Quirrell."

"Good to meet you, Professor," I said. When I held out my hand for him to shake, surprisingly, he held his already-trembling hands close to his chest. I was a bit confused by this, but then I decided maybe he didn't want to because his palms were sweating. Dora had told me this happened to her every year when it was time for final exams.

"What subject do you teach?"

"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," Professor Quirrell muttered, as though he'd rather not think about it. "N-not that you n-need it, eh? I told your brother the same thing when I met him." He laughed nervously.

'Mum' cut in firmly, but politely. "Come along, Cassia. We've got some school supplies to get."

I waved goodbye to Professor Quirrell and walked away with my adoptive family. 'Mum' led us through a back door and out into a small room with a single brick wall in front of us. Dora pulled out her wand and tapped three bricks upward, and then two down, in a pattern that somewhat resembled a half-circle.

The bricks sank into the wall and popped out, and the wall magically separated into two, forming an opening that led into the familiar streets of Diagon Alley. We went on ahead, down the stone-paved walkway, until we came to a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Engraved into the marble, directly over the set of double doors, were the words "Gringotts Bank".

I followed 'Mum', 'Dad', and Dora inside. Sitting in elevated desks, surrounding us on all sides, were goblins. And there was one goblin sitting at the far end of the hallway, filling out some paperwork.

"When you come up to him, tell him your name and that you want to make a withdrawal," 'Dad' instructed as we walked down the hallway. He handed me a small, gold key. "Here's your key. Hold onto it - you'll need to present it."

"Don't worry, we'll be right there with you if you get nervous," 'Mum' assured me, patting my back softly.

I took some deep breaths as we approached the desk at the far end. "Excuse me...m-my name is Cassia Potter, and I'd like to make a withdrawal from my vault."

The goblin put down his quill. "I trust you have your key, Miss Potter," he said, glowering at me.

"Yes, sir." I held up the key.

He examined it closely before making eye contact with me again. "Very well."

Another goblin, by the name of Griphook, escorted us downstairs, where a small cart was parked, apparently waiting for us. We all got in, with Griphook sitting up front, and the cart took off. I'd never ridden a Gringotts cart before, usually 'Dad' would take Dora to get her money while 'Mum' and I waited for them at Flourish and Blotts. I felt like I was going to throw up, but I forced myself to prevent that from happening.

After what felt like hours for me, I felt the cart slow down before gradually coming to a stop in front of a vault.

"Vault 687," Griphook said. He got out of the cart and held out his hand. "Key, please."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the key to my vault, handing it down to Griphook. Griphook took the key, inserted it into the lock, and twisted it to the right. With several clicks, the door swung open. My jaw dropped. A mountain of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts sat in front of me.

I put a hand up against the wall to support myself. I couldn't believe my parents had left us all this money.

Dora chuckled. "Here." She handed me a small pouch that was about the size of my hand. "Might wanna take a little extra for the train."

I filled the pouch with coins, and then once I was done, Griphook closed the door to the vault.

* * *

I don't know how we managed to make it through the shops when they were packed like sardines, but we did it. Although I tried to talk them out of it, my adoptive parents ended up buying me another pet - an speckled brown owl, whom I named Ethel, from the TV show _I Love Lucy_ \- which Dora and I watch almost every day. _Let's just hope she and Ivy don't try to rip each other to shreds after we get home._

"Cassia, why don't you go get your wand, and we'll meet you next door once you're done?" 'Mum' suggested.

"By myself?" I questioned. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "You go on ahead. We'll meet you next door."

I was skeptical, but agreed to it. "If you say so..." 'Mum' handed me my pouch with my supplies packed inside it, and I made my way through the throngs of people, heading in the direction of Ollivanders - it wasn't easy, but I managed to reach the shop without getting lost.

It was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.

A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as I stepped inside. It was a tiny place, with a single, spindly chair resting in a far corner of the room. I set my bag down on the chair and approached the front desk, where a young boy was already waiting. He turned to face me once he heard the bell ringing, and gasped. My eyes widened in surprise and realization - I was face to face with my twin brother, Harry!

 **Harry's POV**

I gasped as I looked at the girl standing in front of me. We looked almost exactly alike, except I was maybe half an inch taller than her, and her face was softer and a bit more of an oval shape. But our eyes and our hair were exactly the same. I guess she was surprised at our resemblance, because her eyes grew wide and her eyebrows shot up.

"Hi..." I said, breathless.

"Hi." The girl waved.

I held out my hand for her to shake. "I'm Harry."

She shook my hand. "Cassia."

Before the conversation could go any further, a whooshing noise was heard, and we looked up to see an old man standing on a ladder before us, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop. "I wondered when I'd be seeing you two," he said. He stepped off the ladder, crossed to the other side of the desk, and scanned the shelves, which were lined with hundreds of black boxes. "It seems only yesterday that your mother and father were in here buying _their_ first wands." He pulled out two and opened them. "Here we are," he said, handing both wands to us. For a moment, we just stood there, staring at the wands in our grasp.

"Give them a wave," Ollivander encouraged us.

I did, and my wand caused several boxes to fly off a shelf and crash to the ground. Cassia waved her wand, but she didn't just cause a box avalanche - she took out an entire column of shelves.

"And not..." Ollivander said quietly. He went back to the shelves and rummaged around before coming back with another pair of boxes. "Perhaps -" he handed us each a wand, "- these."

We both took the wands and gave them a wave again, only to have two flower vases explode in front of us. Little bits of glass were all over the floor. _Oops._

Ollivander shook his head. "No, no. Definitely not. No matter." He went back to one of the shelves and took out another pair of boxes, but then hesitated. "I wonder..." I heard him mutter to himself. He came back over, took the wands out of the box, and handed one ("Holly, 11 inches, phoenix feather core - nice and supple) to me and the other ("Cedar, 11 inches, phoenix feather and phoenix tear core - formidable yet versatile") to Cassia.

We each took the wands in our hands. I felt a sudden warmth in my fingers. I raised the wand above my head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light onto the walls. Cassia did the same, and a similar thing happened, only the sparks that her wand emitted were all gold.

"Curious," Ollivander remarked. "Very curious."

"Sorry, but...what's curious?" I asked.

Mr. Ollivander fixed us with his pale stare.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. It so happens that the phoenix, whose tail feather resides in yours and your sisters wands, gave another feather - just one other. It is curious that you -" he pointed from me to Cassia "- should be destined for these wands when their brother gave you those scars."

My eyes widened and I looked at Cassia. She reached up with her left hand - like me, she held her wand in her right - and pushed back her bangs, exposing a lightning-bolt shaped scar just like mine. I gaped at her. _Whoa! She has one, too?!_

 **Cassia's POV**

Harry's eyes widened when he heard Ollivander's words, and he looked over at me With my left hand, I reached up toward my head and pushed back my bangs. Harry was at a loss for words. He could only gape at me.

I glanced up at Ollivander, bringing my hand back down to my side. "And who owned that wand?"

"We do not speak his name. The wand chooses the wizard, Miss Potter. It's not always clear why. But I think it is clear that we can expect great things from the both of you. After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great."

We were interrupted by someone tapping on the window, and we turned to see a giant, bearded man with bushy hair holding up a cage with a snowy white owl inside. "Harry? Harry, Cassia, happy birthday!" the man said. He seemed vaguely familiar.

"Wow," Harry muttered. We paid Mr. Ollivander for the wands, and then I followed Harry out of the store.

The man beamed as he saw me. "Cassia, look how big yer gettin'! Last I saw yeh, yeh were just a baby!" He marveled at how much I'd grown. "Oh, almost fergot me manners. Name's Hagrid. Prob'ly don't remember me, but I've known you and Harry fer quite a while," he added.

"Hagrid...?" I muttered mostly to myself as I tried to recall the name. Then it dawned on me. Dora's parents told me that Hagrid was the one who had brought me to them after mine and Harry's real parents were killed.

"Glad to see you've met your sister," Hagrid said to Harry, who looked puzzled.

"M-My sister?" he echoed. "But Aunt Petunia never told me I had siblings..." _She didn't? Why?_

"Yep," Hagrid said. "Yer twin sister!" Harry's facial expression flickered between confusion and shock. He couldn't even open his mouth to speak. I, on the other hand, was just plain confused. Why didn't anyone - especially Aunt Petunia - ever mention that Harry wasn't an only child?

I suddenly remembered that I had to meet my adoptive parents at the ice cream parlor, but I had no idea which way it was. _Hmm. Maybe Hagrid could give me directions._ "Er…Hagrid, do you know how to get to Florean Fortescue's from here?" I asked.

"O'course I do," Hagrid replied. "Why don't I walk yeh there?"

"Thank you so much," I said.

Hagrid waved it off. "Ah, don't mention it." He started off, taking great big steps as he walked. I literally had to jog to keep up. Harry didn't - I noticed he was quite a bit faster than me. He was almost ahead of Hagrid!

"Well, here we are," Hagrid said as we approached Florean Fortescue's. "Love ter stay and catch up with yeh, Cassia, but Harry an' I'd best be off."

Even though I was bummed, I waved goodbye. "Bye...see you at Hogwarts, I guess." Way to make it awkward, Cassia.

"Er...yeah. See you at Hogwarts," Harry said, waving goodbye before he and Hagrid walked away. Once I lost sight of them, I turned around and pushed open the door to the ice cream parlor. I spotted Dora immediately - her hair turning yellow was a giveaway. I sat down next to her and she handed me a cone with a scoop of green tea and a scoop of mango (two of my absolute favorites).

"I saw Harry, when I was in Ollivanders," I admitted to 'Mum' and 'Dad'.

'Mum' blinked. "Really? What did he say to you?"

I took a couple of licks of my ice cream before answering, "Well, at first, he was really shocked at how much we looked alike. Then he introduced himself, and I introduced myself to him, and then Ollivander came up and helped us find our wands."

"So did Harry know you were his sister?" 'Dad' asked.

I shook my head. "He was surprised when he saw I had a scar just like him, but Hagrid was the one who told him we were twins."

"Just out of curiosity, what was Harry's wand?" Dora asked.

"Ollivander said it was 11 inches long, made of holly, and it had a phoenix feather core. According to him, it was 'nice and supple'," I informed her.

"Can we see your wand?" Dora eagerly asked.

"Mm-hmm." I rummaged in my bag and found the box containing my wand.

Dora read the label on one end of the box. "Cedar, 11 inches, phoenix feather and phoenix tear core - formidable yet versatile."

"What does that mean?" I asked, taking another lick of my ice cream.

"It means your wand is capable of doing both harm and good," 'Mum' explained, "Hybrid cores, particularly those which are half phoenix feather, are the rarest wands of all, and are feared because of their capacity for dark magic. But, at the same time, they have the ability to repair damage that potions or other wands cannot."

"How'd you know all that?" I asked, shocked.

She grinned. "I may have read something about wands in the Restricted Section in my days at Hogwarts..."

Dora opened the box and held my wand in her hands. "Wow...it's beautiful." She handed it to 'Dad', who was in awe.

"Incredible..." he breathed. He looked up at me and smiled. "You'll make an amazing witch, Cassia. Dark wizards won't know what hit 'em." I grinned when he said this, becoming more eager than ever to go to Hogwarts and learn alongside my brother.

 **Harry's POV**

Hagrid and I went back to the Leaky Cauldron for something to eat, but I didn't feel all that hungry. It was either because the Dursleys gave me nothing but scraps or because I was still in shock over the news that I had a twin sister.

"You alright, Harry? Yeh seem very quiet," Hagrid remarked, noticing my silence.

I nodded. "Just overwhelmed."

"Don't blame yeh fer feeling that way," he said.

"There's something I don't understand. Why didn't anyone tell me I had a twin sister?" I asked. "And how come I didn't get to meet her until today?"

"Cassia never came ter live with yeh after yer parents died," Hagrid informed me. "Dumbledore thought it'd be too dangerous ter let yeh grow up together, so he had me bring yeh to yer aunt and uncle, then I brought Cass to the Tonks'. Their house was one o' the last places anyone would expect ter find her."

I nodded. "And...there's something else as well. He killed our parents, didn't he? The one who gave us this." I pointed to my lightning bolt-shaped scar hidden behind my bangs. "You know, Hagrid. I know you do."

Hagrid sighed, pushing his bowl of soup away from him. "First - and understand this, Harry, 'cause it's very important - not all wizards are good. Some of 'em go bad. Few years ago, there was one wizard who went as bad as yeh can go, and his name was V..." He shook his head. "His name was V..."

"Maybe, if you wrote it down -" I suggested.

"Nah, I can't spell it." He sighed again. "Alright...Voldemort," he whispered.

"Voldemort?" I echoed loudly, causing Hagrid to shush me. Luckily, no one else heard.

"It was dark times, Harry. Dark times. Voldemort started ter gather some followers. Brought 'em over to the dark side. Anyone who stood up to 'im ended up dead. Your parents fought against 'im. But no one lived once he decided ter kill 'em. Nobody - not one - 'cept you and Cassia," Hagrid explained to me.

"Us? Voldemort tried to kill us?" I repeated, in a whisper.

"Yes. An' that ain't no ordinary cut on yer forehead, Harry. A mark like that only comes from bein' touched by a curse, an' an evil curse, at that," Hagrid replied.

"What happened to Vol - to You-Know-Who?" I asked.

Hagrid shrugged. "Well, some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Nope, I reckon he's out there, still...too tired to carry on. But one thing's fer certain. Somethin' about you both stumped 'im that night. That's why yer both famous. That's why everybody knows yer names. You're the Children who Lived."

I sat in silence, letting this new information sink into me like a sponge. The Children Who Lived. Cassia was my twin sister, and we had survived an attack on our family by an evil wizard...when we were just infants.


	4. Off to Hogwarts!

**Cassia's POV**

 _This is it_ , I thought as I pulled myself out of bed this morning. Today was the day I'd be leaving for school. And I was all nerves. _Which house will I be sorted in? Will I be in the same one as Harry?_

I got dressed quickly and started to get everything together. Dora was loaning me her trunk she'd used when she was at Hogwarts, but she used a spell to change the initials on it from _N.T_ to _C.H.P_ last night. I folded my clothes - including my school uniform - as neatly as I could on my bed, and then put Ivy and Ethel in their carriers.

"Ready for first year, Cass?" Dora asked as she came into my room, lugging the trunk behind her.

"You do realize you could've levitated it up here," I pointed out. "I'm just saying."

Dora chuckled. "Guess I should've remembered that..." She helped me put my clothes into the trunk, and she magically locked it with her wand. Then we moved on to my school supplies. My wand remained in its box so that it wouldn't sustain any damage when we packed it with my books. We packed those in a smaller trunk Andromeda had bought for me in Diagon Alley for that very reason. Then we quickly double-checked the room to see if we'd missed anything. Seeing that we hadn't, we figured, _Let's get going_.

"Ready, Cassia?" Dora asked.

I nodded. "Yep." We joined hands, and I felt the unpleasant sensation of being squeezed into a tube as the bedroom started to spin. Faster than you could say "Butterbeer", we were at King's Cross Station. Luckily, no Muggles had seen us appear. They were too busy trying to catch their own trains or they'd just arrived and were trying to navigate their way out of the station.

Dora and I walked through the station, until we came up to a brick column with the numbers 9 and 10 on either side.

"Well, Cass, this is our stop," Dora said, patting my back. "Now, remember what I told you about going through the barrier: don't think 'I'm gonna run into the wall'. If you don't think about running into the wall, it'll ease the worry that you will."

"Got it," I replied, nodding my head.

"Alright, let's do this," she said, gently grabbing my arm. Together, we ran straight at the wall, reappearing on the other side of the barrier, where the Hogwarts Express was waiting.

 **Harry's POV**

I pushed my trolley through the station, wondering where Platform Nine and Three Quarters could possibly be. I saw a steward and anxiously approached him. "Excuse me, sir, can you tell me where I might find Platform Nine and Three-Quarters?"

"Nine and Three Quarters? Think you're being funny, do you?" the steward questioned, before walking away from me. I heard him mutter, "Nine and Three-Quarters..." Clearly he thought I was crazy.

I was about ready to give up, but then I heard a voice behind me talking. "It's the same every year. Packed with Muggles, of course," they said. "Come on!"

I swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair. Each of them was pushing a trunk like mine in front of him - and they had an owl.

"Muggles?" I muttered to myself.

"Platform 9 3/4 this way!" the plump woman called to her children. A little redheaded girl trotted alongside her. The family came to a stop in front of a particular barrier with the numbers nine and ten on either side of it.

"Alright, Percy, you first," the plump woman encouraged.

What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten. I watched, careful not to blink in case I missed it - but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished.

"Fred, you next," the plump woman said, nodding her head toward the barrier.

"He's not Fred, _I_ am," one boy protested, jabbing a thumb at his brother. They looked exactly alike, so I knew they had to be twins.

"Honestly, woman, you call yourself _our_ mother?" the other twin added.

"Oh, sorry George," the mother apologized. She jabbed a thumb at the barrier, urging him to get going.

'George' started to make his way up to the barrier, but then he stopped and made eye contact with his mother and his little sister again. "I'm only joking. I am Fred," he said. Then he ran straight through the barrier, his twin right behind him.

"Excuse me," I said, pushing my trolley toward the plump woman. "C-Could you tell me how to -?"

"How to get onto the platform, yes. Not to worry, dear. It's Ron's first time to Hogwarts as well," The youngest boy standing next to her nodded. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands, and a long nose.

"Now, all you've got to do is walk straight at the wall between platforms nine and ten. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous," his mother instructed me.

"Good luck," the little girl added.

I pushed my trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid.

I started to walk toward it. People jostled me on their way to platforms nine and ten. I walked more quickly. I was going to smash right into that barrier and then I'd be in trouble - leaning forward on my cart, I broke into a heavy run - the barrier was coming nearer and nearer - I wouldn't be able to stop - the cart was out of control - I was a foot away - I closed my eyes ready for the crash -

It didn't come...I kept on running...I opened my eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts' Express, eleven o'clock. I looked behind me and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it. I had done it.

Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to ne another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.

The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. I pushed my cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat.

"Harry?" a familiar voice called my name. I turned around, and to my surprise, I saw that the speaker was my twin sister.

I had to do a double take. "Cassia?"

She nodded. "If you're, uh…looking for a compartment, there's room in mine."

I grinned. "That'd be great, thanks!"

"Here, let me help you with that." She helped me lug my trunk down the train, to her compartment. True to her word, there was plenty of room. It appeared she was the only occupant. Together, we pushed my trunk into a corner right by the door, without blocking it in case anyone wanted to join us, and then we sat down right next to each other.

 **Cassia's POV**

I sat down next to Harry. "I didn't expect to run into you at Ollivanders."

"Me neither. I was shocked when Hagrid told me the news that you and I are related," he said. "Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon never told me I had a sibling, let alone a twin."

"What are they like, our aunt and uncle, if you don't mind me asking?" I asked, crossing my legs.

Harry sighed. "Want to know the truth? They're awful. They act like I'm a disease, and they spoil our cousin Dudley rotten."

"Oh, boy..." I muttered. "What did they do to you?"

He sighed again. "They have me do most of the housework, they've made me sleep in a cupboard for the last ten years, and I barely get anything to eat."

"That _is_ awful," I agreed. I felt terrible for Harry, that he had to endure such horrible living conditions.

"And don't get me started on Dudley. He looks like a pig in a wig." His description of Dudley made me crack up laughing.

"A-Are you serious?!" I said through my laughter.

He nodded, laughing along with me. "Yep, he's pretty chubby."

He then launched into the story of how he'd accidentally set a python on Dudley and how, later on, when he'd met Hagrid for the first time, Hagrid had given Dudley a pig's tail. I was sent into silent hysterics at that.

After we both caught our breath, I spoke. "My adoptive parents told me that the two of us were separated for our own protection, after our mom and dad were killed."

"Who are your adoptive parents?" Harry asked.

"Their names are Ted and Andromeda Tonks," I answered. "And I assure you, they're _much_ nicer than Dudley, Uncle Vernon, and Aunt Petunia sound."

Harry grinned. "I bet they are," he said, "By the way, Cassia...I'm really glad to have finally met you...properly, I mean."

I smiled. "The feeling's mutual." We hugged each other tightly, neither of us wanting to let go, though we did eventually. But the smiles never left our faces. As the train pulled out of the station, I could feel the anticipation building up inside me, and I could just tell Harry felt the same way.

A redheaded boy who looked about our age came to our compartment. "Excuse me? Do you mind?" he asked sheepishly, "Everywhere else is full."

"Not at all," Harry replied.

"Go right ahead," I added, gesturing to the seats across from us.

Grateful, the boy took a seat. "I'm Ron, by the way. Ron Weasley," he introduced himself.

"I'm Harry. Harry Potter," Harry said.

"Cassia Potter," I introduced myself.

Ron's eyes widened in shock. "So - so it's true? I mean, do you really have the - the -" He pointed to his forehead.

"- scar?" I cut him off, "Yeah." Harry and I both pulled our bangs back to show the lightning scar on each of our foreheads.

"Wicked!" Ron exclaimed.

He sat and stared at us for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again.

"Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found us.

"Er - yes, I think so," Ron said. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

"So you must know loads of magic already."

"I heard you went to live with Muggles," Ron said. "What are they like?"

"Horrible - well, not all of them. Our aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."

I nudged Harry. "And what am I, chopped liver?"

"N-Not that I don't like having a witch sister," Harry tried to cover it up.

I giggled. "I'm just kidding with you, Harry..."

"I've actually got five brothers," Ron said. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left - Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first."

"Are you excited to go to Hogwarts?" I asked, changing the subject.

Ron nodded. "Can't wait."

"Same," Harry agreed.

"That makes three of us," I said.

"So how exactly did you two meet?" Ron asked.

"We met in Ollivanders, on the day of our birthday. I was in Diagon Alley with my adoptive family, and I went to Ollivanders to get my wand. And Harry just so happened to be there as well," I explained. "It was Hagrid - the Hogwarts gamekeeper - who broke the news to Harry that we were siblings."

"I couldn't believe it at first," Harry added. "I mean, Aunt Petunia never mentioned that I wasn't an only child." He then proceeded to tell Ron about how he'd never had a proper childhood.

"...and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about Cass and I being sisters or about our parents or Voldemort -"

Ron gasped.

"What?" Harry asked.

"You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you two, of all people -"

"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," Harry said, "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn...I bet," he added, "I bet I'm the worst in the class."

I put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "You don't know that for sure, Harry."

"Cassia's right," Ron agreed. "Besides, there's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough."

While we had been talking, the train had carried us out of London. Now we were speeding past fields of cows and sheep. We were quiet for a long time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.

Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back our door and said, "Anything off the trolley, dears?"

"No thanks, I'm all set," Ron replied, holding up a sandwich bag.

I got to my feet and approached the trolley lady. "Two Every Flavor Beans, three Chocolate Frogs, and three Pumpkin Pasties, please." She got me the candy and I gave her a couple of Galleons to pay for it. "Thank you." I came back into the compartment and dumped the candy onto one of the two empty seats, before taking a pasty for myself. The two boys were absolutely awestruck.

Judging by the expression on Harry's face, he'd clearly never seen these type of candy before. But if our aunt and uncle are as mean as Harry described them, odds are he's never had _any_ kind of candy at all.

"Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans?" Harry wondered, holding up a bag of said candy.

"They _mean_ every flavor," Ron warned. "There's chocolate and peppermint, but there's also spinach, liver, and tripe. George swears he got a bogey-flavored one once." I wrinkled my nose in disgust at the thought.

Harry picked up a Chocolate Frog pack. "These aren't real frogs, are they?"

Ron shook his head. "It's just a spell. Besides, it's the cards you're wantin'. Each pack's got a famous witch or wizard. I've got about 500 myself."

Harry opened the box and a brown frog jumped onto the window.

"Watch it!" Ron exclaimed.

"Whoa!" I said. The frog climbed up and jumped out an opening.

"Ah, that's rotten luck. They've only got one good jump in them to begin with," Ron said.

Harry took out the card so he could see who it was. "I've got Dumbledore!" he exclaimed. I looked over his shoulder and saw a moving photo of a wizard with a long white beard and half-moon spectacles.

"I've got about six of him," Ron said.

Harry glanced at the card. "Hey, he's gone!"

"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day, can you?" Ron asked. "This is Scabbers, by the way," he added, gesturing to a fat brown rat on his lap. "Pathetic, isn't he?"

I looked closely at the rat, and saw he was missing a toe. _Ugh. I hate rats. They're creepy._

"Just a little bit," Harry replied.

"Fred gave me a spell as to turn him yellow. Wanna see?" Ron asked.

Harry and I exchanged looks, and nodded.

He reached into his coat and pulled out a wand that had seen better days. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end. He cleared his throat, pointing the wand down at Scabbers. "Sun -" That was all he got out before he was interrupted - a girl had come to our compartment, already dressed in her Hogwarts robes.

"Has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth.

Her eyes fell on Ron's wand. "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see, then."

Ron cleared his throat.

" _Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,  
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow._"

The end of Ron's wand glowed as it directed the spell at Scabbers, but it did nothing to alter his appearance. Scabbers' fur remained brown.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" the girl asked, looking a bit skeptical. "Well, it's not very good, is it? Of course, I've only tried a few simple spells, but they've all worked for me." She plopped herself down across from Harry and I. "For example -" she aimed her wand at Harry's glasses, " _Oculus Reparo._ "

The tape wrapped around part of Harry's glasses vanished, and the glasses suddenly became unbroken. They looked just like new.

"That's better isn't it?" the girl asked. She then gasped as she took a good look at us. "Holy cricket, you're Harry and Cassia Potter! I'm Hermione Granger. And - you are?"

"Ron Weasley," Ron replied around a mouthful of candy.

Hermione fought back a look of disgust. "Pleasure. You three had better change into robes. I expect we'll be arriving soon." She got up to leave, but turned back to face Ron one more time. "You've got dirt on your nose, by the way. Did you know? Just there." She rubbed the right side of her nose, before leaving.

With my Hogwarts robes now on, I headed back to the compartment. When I got there, I saw that Harry and Ron were also wearing their robes. Ron's were a bit short for him, I could see his sneakers underneath them.

A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

Even though I kind of knew what to expect based on what Dora had told me about her first year and the Sorting, to say I was feeling a little nervous would be a total lie. Harry looked scared out of his mind and Ron, I saw, looked pale under his freckles. I stashed some of our remaining sweets into my trunk, while they crammed the rest into their pockets, and then we joined the crowd thronging the corridor.

The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and we heard a familiar voice:  
"Right, firs' years, this way, please! C'mon now, firs' years, don't be shy! C'mon, hurry up! Out!"

Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.

"'Ello, Harry! And 'ello ter you, too, Cassia!" he greeted.

The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and we heard a familiar voice:  
"Right, firs' years, this way, please! C'mon now, firs' years, don't be shy! Out! 'Ello, Harry! And 'ello to you too, Cassia!"

Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.

"Hey, Hagrid," Harry said in return.

Ron's eyes widened upon seeing Hagrid for the first time. "Whoa..."

"Right then, this way ter the boats! C'mon!" Hagrid called out, beckoning us onward.

Slipping and stumbling, we followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of us that I thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "Jus' round this bend here."

There was a loud "Oooooh!"

The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry, Ron, and I all managed to get a boat together, and - much to Ron's dismay - Hermione also joined us.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then - FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over us as we sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" Hagrid yelled as the first boats reached the cliff; we all bent our heads and the little boats carried us through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. We were underneath the castle, until we reached a kind of underground harbor, where we clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

"Trevor!" a boy cried blissfully, holding out his hands. Then we clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.


	5. Getting sorted & the start-of-term feast

**Cassia's POV**

We got off the boats and entered the castle, climbing up a few flights of stairs until we stopped in front of Professor McGonagall, whom Dora had told me was not the kind of teacher you wanted to mess with. She wore dark green robes and a pointed hat with a wide brim, and her hair was tied back underneath the hat. She stood in front of a pair of doors, facing us. "Welcome to Hogwarts," she said, "Now, in a few moments, you will pass through these doors and join your classmates. But before you can take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Now, while you're here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points...any rule breaking, and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup." I heard a faint croak, and saw a toad near her feet.

"Trevor!" a boy yelled as he rushed forward. He picked up the toad and looked up McGonagall, who gave him a piercing glare. "Sorry," he mumbled, getting back in line. He must be the Neville boy Hermione mentioned earlier.

"The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily," McGonagall said, before walking away. It was dead quiet for a few minutes. I felt Harry - who was right next to me - grasp my hand and give it a light squeeze. I squeezed back, just as nervous as he was.

"It's true, then," a snotty voice blurted out, "what they're saying on the train. Harry and Cassia Potter have come to Hogwarts."

Everyone else suddenly started whispering mine and Harry's names to each other.

The snotty person who had just singled us out stepped forward. He was about the same height as us, with pale skin and slicked-back hair so blonde it was nearly white. "This is Crabbe-" He nodded to a short, chubby boy to his right. "-and Goyle-" He nodded to a slightly taller boy on his right. "-and I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy," he introduced himself, making Ron let out a snicker.  
Malfoy glared at him. "Think my name's funny, do you? I've no need to ask for yours. Red hair, and a hand-me-down robe? You must be a Weasley," he snapped. Then he made eye contact with Harry and I again. "You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You and your sister don't want to be making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there," he said, holding out a hand.

"I think Cassia and I can tell the wrong sort for ourselves, thanks," Harry replied. I nodded, confirming his words and giving Malfoy a glare of my own.

Someone tapped Malfoy's shoulder with a scroll. It was McGonagall. "We're ready for you, now," she stated, "Follow me." She led us into what looked like a huge dining hall, and there were already tons of other kids in there, seated at four long tables. The ceiling above looked like the night sky.  
McGonagall stopped us just a few feet from a table with several teachers sitting in front of us. To her left was a small stool and a worn out hat. "Now, before we begin, Professor Dumbledore would like to say a few words," she said.

"I have a few start-of-term notices I wish to announce. The first-years, please note, that the Dark Forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Also, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind you that the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out-of-bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death. Thank you," Dumbledore announced, before sitting back down. It was quiet again.

McGonagall unrolled her scroll. "When I call your name, you will come forth. I shall place the Sorting Hat on your head," she held up the tattered hat, "and you will be sorted into your houses." _That's it? All we have to do is put on the hat? I can handle that._ "Hannah Abbott," McGonagall called out. A blonde-haired girl made her way forward and sat on the stool.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Sorting Hat cried. The students at one of the tables cheered and clapped for Hannah, and she made her way over to them.  
Susan Bones was called up next, and she got put in Hufflepuff as well.

* * *

"Hermione Granger," McGonagall called out.

"Oh, no...okay, relax," Hermione said to herself as she made her way up to McGonagall.

"Mental, that one. I'm telling you," Ron whispered to us.

Hermione sat down on the little stool, and the hat was placed on her head. Once again, it sprung to life. "Right, then..." it spoke, "Hmm...right. Okay...GRYFFINDOR!"  
The Hall erupted with applause as Hermione was directed to the Gryffindor table.

"Draco Malfoy," the witch-woman called. The hat barely touched Malfoy's head before shouting, "SLYTHERIN!" The Slytherin table started clapping like there was no tomorrow.

"There's not a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin," Ron whispered to Harry and I.  
As the next first-year was called up, I glanced at the staff table. A man with a hooked nose and greasy black hair was staring at Harry and I with cold, piercing eyes. I felt a pain in my head - right where my scar was - and broke eye contact, inhaling sharply. Apparently, Harry must have felt it, because he reacted the same way.

"Harry, Cass, what is it?" Ron asked, turning to us.

"N-Nothing," Harry lied, "Nothing, we're fine."  
I nodded in agreement as the Great Hall broke into applause again.

"Ronald Weasley," McGonagall read from her scroll.  
Ron looked pale as a ghost as he walked up to the stool and sat down. The witch-woman put the hat on his head.

"Ha!" the hat snapped, scaring Ron. "Another Weasley! I know just what to do with you...GRYFFINDOR!" it said, shouting the last part.  
Ron looked so relieved as he went to join Hermione at the Gryffindor Table.

"Cassia Potter," McGonagall called out.

Oh, Merlin...it's my turn now. The hall was now completely silent. You could literally hear a pin drop if it wasn't for some people whispering about "THE Cassia Potter". I slowly walked up and sat on the stool, and McGonagall placed the hat on my head.

"Let's see..." the hat pondered, "Hmm...you're talented, yes. Ambitious as well. But not cunning enough to be a Slytherin. A clever mind...you're witty and perceptive. Possibly Ravenclaw. And such loyalty to your brother and your newfound friends. Yes, you could be a Hufflepuff. But you're also quite courageous and headstrong, unafraid to stand up for what you believe is right. You'll do quite nicely in...GRYFFINDOR!"  
The Gryffindor table erupted in cheers and I raced to them, taking a seat next to Hermione.

"Harry Potter," McGonagall called out. The applause stopped and whispers filled the room again. It was the same as what'd happened when I was called up, but this time, the whispering was about "Harry Potter" and how "The REAL twins are at Hogwarts". Harry walked up and sat on the stool, and the hat was placed on his head.

"Hmm...difficult, very difficult...Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind, either. There's talent...oh, yes. And a thirst to prove yourself. But where to put you?" it thought aloud.

I thought I heard Harry muttering "Not Slytherin" under his breath. I was thinking the same thing he was, to be honest. After what Ron had whispered to us about Slytherin, I sure as heck wouldn't want to be in there!

"Not Slytherin, eh? Are you sure? You can be great, you know. It's all here in your head. And Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, there's not doubt about that. No?" the hat continued, "Well, if you're sure, better be...GRYFFINDOR!"  
Everyone at the Gryffindor table, including me, erupted in cheers again. Harry plopped down next to me, and we hugged.

After the rest of the first-years were sorted - I think there must have been at least 150 of us total - the hat and stool were taken away, and we started chattering excitedly to each other.

Someone tapped on their dinner glass and called out, "Your attention, please?" It was McGonagall.

Dumbledore stood up. "Let the feast begin," he announced, before taking his seat again.

Food magically appeared on the tables. There was roast beef, chicken, steak, roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, boiled potatoes, green beans, asparagus, carrots, sausages, dinner rolls, gravy, multiple varieties of pasta and salads, French fries, corn, beans, rice, and - weirdly enough - peppermint humbugs, to name a few. As we ate, there was a lot of talk going around the room.

"I'm half and half," an Irish boy said, "Me dad's a Muggle. Mum's a witch. Bit of a nasty shock for him when he found out."

"Say, Percy?" Harry asked one of the redheads from earlier, "who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" He nodded towards the hook-nosed man from earlier, who was sitting next to a nervous-looking man with a turban wrapped around his head. I guessed the nervous man was Quirrell.

"Oh, that's Professor Snape. Head of Slytherin House," Percy answered.

"What does he teach?" I asked, jumping into the conversation.

"Potions, but everyone knows it's the Dark Arts he fancies. He's been after Quirrell's job for years," Percy replied.

Ron was still eating when a ghost popped up out of nowhere, scaring him silly. The ghost looked like an English nobleman. "Hello," he said, "How are you? Welcome to Gryffindor." No sooner had he said this, then the whole hall was soon filled with ghosts.

"Hello, Sir Nicholas. Have a nice summer?" Percy asked.

The ghost turned to face him, frowning. "Dismal. Once again, my request to join the Headless Hunt has been denied," he replied, starting to float away.

"I know you! You're Nearly Headless Nick!" Ron exclaimed.

"I prefer Sir Nicholas, if you don't mind," Sir Nicholas corrected him.

"Nearly headless?" Hermione asked, in disbelief. "How can you be nearly headless?"

"Like this," Sir Nicholas answered, pulling his head to one side. It was so gross! It looked like someone had tried to cut his head off and failed. Sir Nicholas tilted his head back onto his neck and left. I pretty much lost my appetite after that one.

* * *

After dinner, we were being led to our dormitories.

"Gryffindors, follow me please. Keep up. Thank you," Percy said as he guided us up a flight of stairs. "This is the most direct path to the dormitories. Oh, and keep an eye on the staircases- they like to change." Several floors above me, I could see a couple of the staircases switching positions. Good thing Dora warned me about that.

We were led up some more stairs - with Percy snapping at us to keep up - and we came to a stop at a portrait of a plump lady in a light pink dress. "Password?" she asked.

"Caput Draconis," Percy replied.  
The portrait swung open, and we were led into a bright red and gold room.  
"Welcome to the Gryffindor common room. Boys' dormitories upstairs and down to your left. Girls, the same on your right," Percy informed us, nodding towards two staircases on either side of him. "You'll find all of your belongings have already been brought up," he added.

We all headed upstairs to check out our dorms and get ready for bed.  
I was sharing a room with 4 other girls; Hermione, two girls named Parvati and Padma Patil, and another girl named Lavender Brown.

I locked myself in the bathroom and quickly changed into my pajamas. Then I brushed my teeth and got into bed, falling asleep quickly, with Cricket curled up next to me.


	6. First day of classes

**Cassia's POV**

The next morning, I showered and changed quickly into my school uniform before heading down to breakfast.

McGonagall came around our table, handing us our class schedules. Looking at mine, I saw that the classes were an hour long, with a 15-minute break in between, and they started at 9 AM sharp. I saw some of them were double-blocked, meaning they ran for 2 hours instead of one. Luckily there were only 2 or 3, but one of them was today. According to my schedule, I had Transfiguration first. And McGonagall was the one teaching it. I was really excited for this class, because we'd get to transform things into something else.

At 8:30, I made my way to the Transfiguration classroom. Once I got there, I took a seat next to Hermione. Harry and Ron were nowhere in sight. Maybe they overslept. Who knows?

McGonagall started class by introducing herself, and warning us that - to quote her - "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not return." As a demonstration, she turned her desk into a pig and then back again. She then wrote some notes on the blackboard about the basics of Transfiguration, and she had us copy down what she'd written, before transforming into a cat. She watched us all like a hawk as we wrote.  
Suddenly, I heard the door opening and footsteps rushing across the floor. I didn't even have to look up to know it was my brother and Ron.

"Phew, we made it. Can you imagine the look on old McGonagall's face if we were late?" Ron asked Harry.  
McGonagall then sprang from her desk, turning back into her human form.  
Ron was at a loss for words. "That was bloody brilliant!" he exclaimed.

"Well, thank you for that assessment, Mr. Weasley. Perhaps it would be more useful if I were to transfigure Mr. Potter and yourself into a pocket watch? That way, one of you might be on time," McGonagall replied.

"We got lost," Harry said.

"Then perhaps a map," McGonagall suggested, "I trust you don't need one to find your seats."  
Harry and Ron looked totally embarrassed at her words. They sat down behind me and Hermione, and we continued to take notes.  
Towards the end of the lesson, we were each given a match and told to transform it into a needle. Only Hermione got it right.

* * *

The next class was double Potions...with Slytherin. _Ugh!_  
According to the Weasley twins, Professor Snape favored the Slytherins. _Oh, Merlin, he's gonna be ruthless with us Gryffindors!_ I thought to myself as I rushed through the halls, clutching my bag to my chest. I got lost fairly quickly, unsure of where the classroom was. Now I was starting to panic. I didn't want to get in trouble on the first day of Potions, especially with Snape as a teacher. Ron told me he can get pretty nasty, and I do NOT want to see that happen.  
I sprinted down one of the corridors, only to crash into someone when I took a left turn. My bag dropped to the ground, spilling right in front of me. I immediately bent down and tried to clean it up.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" the boy I had bumped into apologized, "Here, let me help you." He knelt down to help me.

My ink well had broken, so my books (and my fingertips) were stained black. I tried to wipe it off with my sleeve, but it only seemed to get worse. The boy helped me wipe my books clean and repack my things before pulling me to my feet. Now I got a good look at him. He was considerably taller than me, and he was extremely handsome. He had wavy light brown hair, along with striking brown eyes. Based purely on his height, I assumed he was either a third of fourth-year student. The very sight of him made me blush a little.  
"I'm sorry, um..." I started to apologize, but then I realized that I didn't know his name.

"The name's Cedric," the boy said, "Cedric Diggory. Hufflepuff." We shook hands. _Hmm, he's very polite, too,_ I thought to myself. "Nice to meet you, Cassia," he added.

I looked at him like he had 2 heads. "H-How did you know-"

Cedric chuckled. "Your scar was a giveaway," he answered my question. "Anyways, can I help you? You look like you may be lost."

"Yeah, do you know where the Potions classroom is?" I asked.

"Sure. I just came from there, actually. It's in the dungeons," Cedric replied, "Come on, I'll take you down there." He looped my arm with his and took me down to the dungeons. He came to a stop outside a room where some students inside already had their cauldrons set up on their desks.

"Thanks, Cedric," I said, hugging him.

Cedric chuckled and hugged me back. "Any time," he replied before pulling away. He started to leave, but he turned and looked back at me one last time. "I'll see you around, alright, Cassia?" he asked. I watched him as he disappeared, my feet rooted to the floor, before I headed into the classroom, taking a seat next to my brother and Hermione.

As everyone took their seats, there was an awful lot of chatter going on for the first few minutes. The only thing on my mind at the moment was Cedric. I couldn't get the image of him out of my head, for some reason. Then the door flew open and Snape came in, causing me to snap out of my daze. "There will be no foolish wand waving, or silly incantations in this class," he stated, going all no-nonsense on us. "As such, I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion making. However, for those...select few who possess this predisposition," he looked at Malfoy, "I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death." Then Snape glanced at Harry and I. "Then again, maybe some of you have come to Hogwarts in possession of abilities so formidable that you feel confident enough to not...pay...attention." He glared at Harry, who was writing down everything Snape had said.  
Hermione and I nudged Harry, and he quickly put his quill down.  
"Mr. Potter," Snape sneered, "Our new celebrity. Tell me, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"  
Hermione's hand shot up in the air. Seems like she knew the answer.  
Harry, on the other hand, looked completely baffled.

"You don't know?" Snape asked.  
Harry shook his head.  
"Well, let's try again," Snape said, "Where, Mr. Potter, would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?"  
Hermione still had her hand up.

"I-I don't know, sir," Harry said.

"And what is the difference between monkswood and wolfsbane?" Snape pressed.

"I-I don't know, sir," Harry repeated.  
Hermione had her hand stretched as high as it would possibly go without her having to stand up.

"Perhaps your sister can provide us with the answer," Snape suggested, turning towards me. I shrank back in my chair. "Pity. Clearly, fame isn't everything. Is it, Mr. Potter?" he asked, turning back to Harry.

"I-I think Hermione knows. Maybe you could ask her," Harry stuttered.  
My jaw dropped. I _definitely_ wasn't expecting THAT from him!

Snape glared at Hermione. "Put your hand down, you silly girl," he snapped. He pulled a stool over to our desk and sat down in front of Harry and I. "For your information, Potters, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone found in the stomach of a goat, and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkswood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite," Snape explained, sneering at Harry.  
I was copying down everything he said. Harry was so scared, he was frozen in his seat.  
"Well?" Snape turned to the rest of the class, "why is Potter's sister the only one copying this down?"

Everyone else scrambled to get out a quill and some parchment.

"And young Gryffindors, note that 10 points will be taken from your house, for your classmate's...cheek," Snape added, before starting with the lesson.

* * *

"Eye of rabbit, harpstring hum, turn this water into rum," Seamus recited. He had his spellbook open, and he was waving his wand at a glass of water, trying to turn it into rum.

"What's Seamus trying to do to that glass of water?" asked Harry.

"Turn it to rum," I answered as Seamus recited the spell again.

"Actually managed a weak tea yesterday, before-" Ron added, before we were cut off by a huge explosion.  
We all looked at Seamus. His eyebrows were burned off. Some of the other Gryffindors were laughing at him.  
I rolled my eyes, while Hermione just fanned the smoke away from her face with her hand.

I suddenly heard a screeching noise coming from overhead.

"Ah," Ron sighed, "The mail's here."  
Owls swooped in and dropped packages and letters to people all over the Great Hall. Harry and I got nothing.

"Can I borrow this?" Harry muttered to Ron. Ron nodded, and Harry took what looked like a newspaper from him, reading to himself.

"Hey, look- Neville's got a Rememberall," a boy by the name of Dean Thomas suddenly blurted out.  
I looked over at Neville and saw that he had a small glass orb in his hand.

"I've read about those!" Hermione exclaimed, "When the smoke turns red, it means you've forgotten something."  
As if on cue, smoke began to form inside the little sphere and it turned red.

"The only problem is, I can't remember what I've forgotten," Neville complained. _Poor Neville._

"Ron, Cassia, look! Someone broke into Gringotts!" Harry whispered, nudging me. I looked in his direction and saw that his eyes were on the latest issue of _The Daily Prophet_.

"What?!" I silently exclaimed.

"Listen," Harry whispered. He read the article, with Ron and I looking over his shoulders. "' _Believed to be the work of dark witches or wizards unknown, Gringotts goblins acknowledging the breech insist nothing was taken. The vault in question - #713 - had, in fact, been emptied earlier that very same day_.'" A confused look spread across his face. "Odd. That's the vault Hagrid and I went to. He took something. Said it was Hogwarts business, very secret."

"What could it have been?" I asked.

Harry shrugged. "I haven't a clue," he replied.


	7. Harry and I, play Quidditch?

**Cassia's POV**

A week later, on Monday, flying lessons started up.  
We all stood in two lines, in front of several broomsticks laid out on the grass. The anticipation was building as we waited for Madam Hooch. The flying instructor.  
Hermione seemed the most nervous out of anyone. She'd spent almost all day in the library, trying to read up on tips, but flying just isn't the kind of thing you learn from books.

"Good afternoon, class," Madam Hooch said as she came out to meet us, walking right up in between the two lines we'd all formed. She had short, spiky grey hair and piercing yellow eyes.

"Good afternoon, Madam Hooch," we all replied.

Madam Hooch stopped, whirling around to face us. "Welcome to your first flying lesson," she said, "Well, what are you waiting for? Everyone step up to the left side of their broomstick. Come on now, hurry up," Madam Hooch ordered. We all obeyed. "Stick your right hand over the broom," she stuck her hand out as she said it, "and say 'up'!"

We all did as we were told. Harry, Malfoy, and I all got our brooms to obey easily, as did most of the other kids. Hermione's just rolled around lazily on the grass, refusing to cooperate.

"Up!" Ron shouted for the umpteenth time- his broom hadn't even moved an inch. The broom suddenly shot straight up and whacked him in the face, making Harry and I snicker.  
"Shut up, guys," Ron grumbled.

"Oh, where's your sense of humor, Ron?" I sarcastically remarked.

"Right, once you've got hold of your broom, I want you to mount it. And grip it tight; don't want to be sliding off the end," Madam Hooch ordered. We all did as she instructed. "Now, when I blow my whistle, I want each of you to kick off from the ground, hard. Keep your brooms steady, hover for a moment, then lean forward slightly, and touch back down," she said, "On my whistle. Three...two..."

The moment she blew her whistle, I saw Neville's broom suddenly rise off the ground. Then it started flying around like crazy, with Neville holding on for dear life and screaming for help.

"Come back down this instant!" Madam Hooch snapped.

Neville's broom jerked from side to side and repeatedly hit one of the castle's walls. We all ran out of the way (well, Madam Hooch jumped to the ground to take cover) as it suddenly made a dive and sped in our direction. The broom flew up, and then straight again. Neville's robe got caught on a statue as the broom flew off in the distance, never to be seen again. Neville's robe tore and he got stuck on what looked like a pitchfork, before his robe slipped off and he fell to the ground with a loud CRACK.

"Everyone out of the way!" Madam Hooch demanded, rushing towards Neville.

"Is he alright?" Hermione whispered to me, making me shrug. _Hopefully_ he was okay. That was a massive fall he took.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow...Neville whimpered.

Madam Hooch examined Neville's right hand, which was bent at an unnatural angle. "Oh, dear, it's a broken wrist. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk..." she muttered, "Okay, come on, boy. Up you go..." She helped him up gently. "Everyone's to keep their feet firmly on the ground while I take Mr. Longbottom to the Hospital Wing. Understand? If I see a single broom in the air, the one riding it will find themselves out of Hogwarts before they can say 'Quidditch'," she warned us as she led Neville back inside the castle.

"You see his face? Maybe if the fat lump had given this a squeeze, he'd remember to fall on his fat arse," Malfoy sneered. He was now holding Neville's Rememberall. It must've fallen when Neville's broom went berserk. Some of the Slytherins laughed. I didn't. Neither did Harry, or Ron, or Hermione, or any of the Gryffindors, for that matter. It was _not_ funny.

"Give it here, Malfoy," Harry snapped, gaining Malfoy's attention.

"That doesn't belong to you. And how can you laugh after Neville fell and broke a bone? He could've died falling from that height!" I jumped in, coming up to stand beside my brother.

"No, I don't think I want to 'give it here'," Malfoy replied, mocking Harry. "I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find." He mounted his broom and flew around everyone else. "How 'bout on the roof?" he suggested, smirking at us. "What's the matter, Potters? Bit beyond your reach?"

Harry and I exchanged a quick glance at each other before mounting our brooms. Malfoy was _not_ going to get away with this.

"Harry, Cassia, no way!" Hermione protested, coming up to us. "You heard what Madam Hooch said. Besides, you don't even know how to fly!"  
Ignoring her, we both flew up into the air.

"Give it here, Malfoy, or I'll knock you off your broom!" Harry threatened.

Malfoy smirked. "Is that so?" he challenged.

"Wanna bet?" I fired back.  
Harry and I zoomed straight at him, trying to grab one of his hands and pull him off his broom. We couldn't, but we _did_ come close, pulling Malfoy so that he was now upside-down on his broom.

Malfoy righted himself up again, and turned back to us. "Have it your way, then," he said. He threw the Rememberall as far as he could.

Harry and I raced after it. He flew higher, while I flew lower, ready to catch it if he couldn't. But I didn't need to- he dove 50 feet and caught it in one hand.

"Great job, Harry!" I called up to him.

"Thanks, sis!" he called back.

We landed and got off our brooms, with everyone - minus Malfoy - running over to us, cheering. Harry and I received many pats on the back and high-fives.

Even Hermione was proud. "That was great, guys," she complimented us.

"That was wicked!" another person chimed in.

"Way to go!" someone else added.

"Harry Potter! Cassia Potter!" McGonagall barked, cutting our celebration short.  
 _Uh oh. I think we're in trouble_ , I thought.  
"Follow me," she ordered.  
Harry and I followed her back into the school. She led us to a classroom, where Professor Quirrell was teaching some older students, with a giant lizard in his arms. Why was he holding a huge lizard? I have no idea!  
"Professor Quirrell, excuse me. Could I borrow Wood for a moment, please?" McGonagall asked.

"Y-Y-Y-Yes, of course," Quirrell replied.

One of the students - who looked to be Cedric's age, maybe a year younger - came out of the classroom. McGonagall took us to a far corner of the hallway, where we were out of earshot from Professor Quirrell and the other students in his class. "Potters, this is Oliver Wood," she introduced us. Her usual stern look became a smile as she made eye contact with Oliver again. "Wood, I have found you a Seeker and a Chaser."

The next day, all anyone - including Sir Nicholas - could talk about was the fact that Harry and I were now on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"Seeker? Chaser? But first-years _never_ make the house teams!" Ron exclaimed. "You two must be the youngest Quidditch players in-"

"-a century-" Harry cut him off.

"-according to McGonagall," I finished Harry's sentence.

Fred and George suddenly appeared on either side of us. "Hey, well done, guys! Wood's just told us!" Fred congratulated Harry and I.

"Fred and George are on the team, too. Beaters," Ron explained.

"Our job is to make sure you two don't get bloodied up too bad," George said.

"Can't make any promises, of course. Rough game, Quidditch," Fred added.

"Brutal, but no one's died in years," George chimed in.

"Someone will vanish occasionally-" Fred trailed off.

"-but they'll turn up in a month or two!" George finished his sentence. The two of them headed to their next class, but because Ron, Harry, and I had a free period, we went out to the courtyard.

"Come on, guys! Quidditch is great! Best game there is," Ron encouraged us, "And you'll be great, too!"

"But I've never played Quidditch," Harry protested.

"That makes two of us," I sarcastically commented.

"What if we make a fool of ourselves?" Harry protested.

Hermione came over to us. "You won't make a fool of yourselves. It's in your blood," she insisted. She took us to a trophy case in one of the hallways and pointed out a gold badge with "Gryffindor Seeker: James Potter" engraved on it. James Potter? That's Dad's name!

"Harry, Cassia, you never told me your father was a seeker, too!" Ron exclaimed.

"I...didn't know," Harry muttered.

"Neither did I," I added.  
Maybe Hermione's right. Maybe Quidditch _is_ in mine and Harry's blood.


	8. Nearly eaten by a 3-headed dog

**Cassia's POV**

"I'm telling you, it's spooky. She knows more about you than you do," Ron commented as we walked up the stairs after dinner, heading back to Gryffindor Tower. I heard a strange noise - like stones sliding against each other - and looked behind me to see one of the railings start to disappear. _Oh, no!_ I'd heard Hermione talk about the staircases frequently changing!

"Well, who doesn't?" Harry replied. The staircase began to move, startling us, and we clung to the railings.

"What's happening?" Ron asked, bewildered.

"The staircases change, remember?" Hermione reminded him. The staircase stopped once it reconnected in another spot.

"Let's go this way," said Harry.

"Before the staircase moves again," Ron added, scared for his life.  
We came into a spooky looking room I'd never seen before. Somehow I got a bad feeling about this.

"Does anybody feel like...we shouldn't be here?" Ron asked.

"We're not _supposed_ to be here," Hermione said, matter-of-factly. "This is the third floor. It's forbidden!"

"Let's go," said Harry. The torch next to us was suddenly lit, and we heard a meow. It was Mrs. Norris, Filch's dirty old cat.

"It's Filch's cat!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Run!" Harry said.  
We bolted down the corridor. The torches on the wall lit up every time we passed one.

I looked ahead of us and saw that we were coming closer and closer to another door. "Let's hide in there!" I suggested.

Once we reached the door, Harry pulled on the knob as hard as he could. "It's locked!" he complained.

"That's it. We're done for," Ron moaned.

"Oh, move over!" Hermione snapped. She pushed him out of the way. "Alohomora!" waving her wand. The door instantly unlocked, and we rushed inside, slamming it shut behind us. We heard Filch talking to Mrs. Norris, and then his footsteps retreated. He was leaving.

"Filch's gone," Hermione reported after an agonizing 30 seconds of waiting.

"Maybe he thinks this door's locked," Ron suggested.

"It _was_ locked," Hermione corrected him.

"And for good reason," Harry added. He was staring ahead of us, frozen in his tracks.  
I followed his gaze and froze where I stood. Standing before us was a massive 3-headed dog. And it was growling at us. We all screamed at the top of our lungs and ran out of the room as fast as our legs would carry us. We pushed the door closed with all our might, locked it, and then high-tailed it out of the 3rd-floor corridor.

"What do they think they're doing? Keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" Ron asked, out of breath, once we were inside the Gryffindor common room.

"You don't use your eyes, do you?" Hermione argued as we headed up the stairs to the dormitory. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?" she asked.

"I wasn't looking at its feet! I was a bit preoccupied with its heads, or maybe _you_ didn't notice- there were 3!" Ron retorted.

"It was standing on a trapdoor, which means it wasn't there by accident. It's guarding something," Hermione explained. We all stopped outside one of the girls' dorms.

"Guarding something?" Harry and I repeated.

"That's right. Now, if you two don't mind, _I'm_ going to bed. And so is Cassia, before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us killed. Or worse, expelled," Hermione snapped. She pulled me into her dorm and shut the door behind us.

The next day, before dinner, Oliver was giving Harry and I a lesson in Quidditch. "Quidditch is easy enough to understand," he explained as we helped him carry a big trunk out onto the field. "Each team has 7 players; 3 Chasers, 2 Beaters, 1 Keeper, and a Seeker. That's you, Harry." We set the trunk down, and Oliver opened it. "There are 3 kinds of balls. This one's called the Quaffle," he continued, handing Harry and I the biggest ball. "Now, the Chasers - one of which is you, Cassia - handle the Quaffle and try to put it through one of those 3 hoops." he pointed to a set of 3 hoops on both ends of the field. "The Keeper - that's me - defends the hoops. With me so far?"

"I think so," Harry replied, handing Oliver the Quaffle.

"What are those?" I asked, pointing to 2 black balls that seemed to be squirming under their restraints.

Oliver handed us each a small bat. "You'd better take these," he suggested. He then released one of the squirming black balls. It shot straight up in the air, and then plummeted back down.  
"Careful, now, it's coming back," Oliver warned us.  
Harry and I held our bats at the ready, waiting with baited breath to see which direction the ball would go so we both wouldn't swing at the same time and risk injury. The ball went directly to Harry, and Harry immediately whacked it with the bat, sending it far away from us.  
"Huh. Not bad, Harry. You'd make a fair Beater," Oliver complimented. His smile vanished once he saw the ball was hurtling back towards us. "Uh oh..." Luckily, he caught the ball before it could do any damage, but the force of it speeding at him knocked him to the ground, and he had to wrestle the ball back into the trunk so he could restrain it again.

"What _was_ that?" Harry and I asked in unison.

Oliver chuckled, looking at us. "Bludger," he replied, "Nasty little buggers. But you-" he pointed to Harry "-are a Seeker. The only thing I want you to worry about-" He opened a little compartment in the lid of the trunk, and pulled out a little gold ball. "-is this. The Golden Snitch."

Harry had a huge smile on his face as he held the Snitch. "I like this ball," he said.

Oliver smirked. "Ah, you like it now? Just wait- it's wicked fast and damn near impossible to see," he said.

"What do I do with it?" Harry asked.

"You catch it," Oliver replied, "Before the other team's Seeker. You catch this, the game is over. You catch this, Harry, and we win." He then looked at me. "Now, Cassia, for the time being, you are going to be our reserve Chaser. What that means is, in case one of our Chasers is sick or injured, you'll take their place for the match. However, you _will_ be practicing with the Chasers when we run drills at practices. Got that?"

I nodded. "Yep!"

The Snitch sprouted clear, birdlike wings, and started to fly around us.

"Wow..." Harry and I said in sync again. All three of us looked at each other and laughed again as the Snitch continued to fly around on the field, before eventually landing back in Harry's palm.


	9. Taking down a troll

**Cassia's POV**

Today was Halloween, and my last class of the day was Charms, with Professor Flitwick, and I'm just gonna say it: he was SO short! He had to stand on top of a stack of books just to see us. "One of a wizard's most rudimentary skills is levitation, the ability to make objects fly," he informed us, "Now, do you have your feathers?" Hermione and I held up ours. "Good," he said, "Now, don't forget the nice wrist movement we've been practicing. The swish and flick. Everyone?" We all did the wrist movement with him. "Good. Oh, and enunciate: _Wingardium Leviosa_. Off you go, then," he instructed.

Everyone tried to make their feathers fly, and they didn't seem to be having much luck.

"Wingardrium Leviosar," Ron recited. He started shaking his wand at the feather.

"No. Stop, stop, stop, stop," Hermione interrupted, stopping him. "You're going to take someone's eye out. Besides, you're saying it wrong. It's levi- _o_ -sa, not leviosar."

"You do it then, if you're so clever. Go on, go on," Ron encouraged.

Hermione and I looked at each other and recited, " _Wingardium Leviosa_." We did the wrist movement - properly - as we said it, and both of our feathers rose up into the air.

"Oh, well done!" Flitwick praised us. "See here, everyone, Miss Granger and Miss Potter have done it! Splendid!"

"Wingard Leviosa!" Seamus recited, waving his wand the wrong way. He said the spell again and the feather exploded, burning him again. Some people - *cough* the Slytherins *cough* - laughed at his misfortune.

"I think we're going to need another feather over here, Professor," Harry said, not taking his eyes off the feather.

I walked with my brother, Ron, and Seamus as we left the classroom, heading back to Gryffindor Tower so we could start on our homework before dinner.

"It's levi- _o_ -sa, not leviosar," Ron mocked Hermione. "She's a nightmare, honestly. No wonder she hasn't got any friends." Just then, Hermione rushed past us. I saw she had tears in her eyes as she walked.

"I think she heard you," Harry said to Ron.

I smacked Ron in the arm. "Ow! Cass, that's not nice!"

"Neither is you insulting Hermione!" I retaliated, before running after Hermione. "Hermione!" I called out, "Hermione, wait!" She headed into the girls' bathroom, and I immediately followed her inside. I could hear her sobs coming from the very last cubicle. She was definitely _very_ hurt by what Ron had said. To say I was mad at him would be an understatement.

I knocked on the door. "'Mione? It's me, Cassia."

"Go away," Hermione sobbed.

Giving the door a gentle push, I saw it was unlocked, and I went inside. Hermione was sitting on the toilet, her face buried in her hands. I came closer to her and got down on my knees, placing a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "Mione, don't listen to Ron. He doesn't mean all that stuff he said about you," I assured her.

"No...no, he did. And he's right. My being a know-it-all is the reason why no one likes me," she whimpered.

"That's not true, Mione. Harry and I think you're a wonderful person," I said.

Hermione sniffled. "Really?" she asked, looking up at me with puffy, red eyes, and tear-stained cheeks.

"Really," I replied, giving her a hug. "Ron's just jealous of you..."

"You think so?" Hermione asked.

I shook my head. "I _know_ so. No guy wants to get beat by a girl."

She giggled a little at that, wiping a tear from her eyes. But then she frowned again. "Cass, I feel bad. You're missing dinner because of me," she said.

"Who cares about that? You're my friend. Friends always come first," I told her, giving her another hug.

 **Harry's POV**

The last time I saw either of them was when Ron was making fun of them, and then we saw Hermione speed past us, in tears. And then Cassia noticed and ran after her. Where? I can't even guess. And now that we're at dinner, I'm starting to get a little worried. _I hope they're okay._ "Where's Hermione and Cassia?" I asked Neville.

"Parvati Patil said she wouldn't come out of the girls' bathroom," Neville replied, whispering so no one else could hear him. "She said she's been in there all afternoon, crying. Cassia's in there, comforting her."  
I nodded and went back to eating. I'd go check on them after dinner.

The doors to the Great Hall suddenly burst open.  
"TROLL! IN THE DUNGEON!" Quirrell yelled as he ran in, "TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!" He stopped halfway through. "Thought you ought to know..." He passed out.  
We all started panicking and rushing to the door.

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore yelled, making us all freeze in our tracks. "If everyone would please NOT panic," he said. "Now, prefects will lead their houses back to the dormitories. Teachers will follow me to the dungeons."  
We all hurried out, us Gryffindors following Percy.

"Gryffindors, keep up please, and stay alert!" Percy ordered.

"How could a troll get in?" I asked Ron.

"Not on its own. Trolls are really stupid. Probably people playing jokes," Ron replied. I grabbed his arm, pulling him back. "What?"

"Hermione and Cassia- they don't know!" I whispered.  
We headed to the girls' bathroom, but stopped and hid behind a column when we heard a groaning noise. Before I knew it, we saw a huge shadow walking across the hall in front of us.

"I think the troll's left the dungeon," Ron muttered.

My heart raced as we saw where it was going. "It's going to the girls' bathroom!" I whispered.  
Ron and I looked at each other and raced after the troll. We got there just in time to see the troll swing its club at multiple cubicles.

 **Cassia's POV**

"Come on, we'd better get to the Great Hall before Ron eats all the candy for dessert," I said.

Hermione laughed. "What is it with Ron always eating?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Beats me..."

We started to walk towards, but I stopped short when I saw a pair of huge feet. I looked up and saw a giant troll staring down at us.  
Terrified, we both backed away as the troll slowly advanced closer to us. With our backs against the door of the cubicle, we had nowhere else to go, so we locked ourselves in the cubicle. That didn't work, though, because the troll swung its club at all the stalls. Hermione and I screamed and ducked down, covering our heads to protect ourselves from falling debris.

"Hermione, Cassia, move!" I heard Harry shout at us. I looked up from underneath the debris, and saw Harry and Ron had just come in. Hermione and I tried to crawl out from underneath the rubble, but the troll swung its club again, and more debris fell over us. While Hermione screamed "Help!" nonstop, I heard some clunking noises to my left, and I looked up to see Ron and Harry throwing rubble at the troll to distract it.

"Hey! Peabrain!" Ron called up to it. Hermione and I took the chance and crawled over to the sink. Unfortunately, the troll saw us and just nearly missed us with his club. It hit part of the sink, and a leak sprung.

"Help!" Hermione and I yelled at the same time.

Harry charged at the troll, grabbing onto its club. He was flung onto the troll's head and the troll shook him like a rag doll. Harry accidentally got his wand stuck up the thing's nose! I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Then he was being held by only one leg as the troll tried to nail him with the club. "Do something!" he shouted.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Anything!" Harry said, ducking again to avoid getting hit. "Hurry up!"

Ron took out his wand.

"Swish and flick!" Hermione called out.

" _Wingardium Leviosa_!" Ron said.  
The club slipped out of the troll's hand, floating in midair for a moment. Then it hit him right on the head. Harry was dropped to the floor as the troll staggered about before toppling to the bathroom floor.  
Shaking, Hermione and I slowly came out from our hiding spot under the sink, advancing closer to Ron and Harry.

"Is it...dead?" Hermione asked.

"I don't think so. It's just knocked out," Harry reported. He pulled his wand out of the troll's nostril and we all made sick faces. "Ugh...troll bogies," Harry muttered, wiping his wand on his robes.  
Quirrell, McGonagall, and Snape rushed into the bathroom. They looked absolutely shocked at the unconscious troll.

"Oh my goodness! E-Explain yourselves, both of you!" McGonagall cried, looking at Ron and Harry.  
The two of them started to blabber about what had happened, but they couldn't get all the details out.

"It's _my_ fault, Professor McGonagall," Hermione said, cutting them off.  
We all looked at her in shock.

"Miss Granger?" McGonagall questioned.

"I went looking for the troll," Hermione lied, "I'd read about them and thought I could handle it. But I was wrong. Cassia tried to talk me out of it. She said I'd be killed if I went alone. Apparently, she was correct. If she, Harry and Ron hadn't come and found me...I'd probably be dead."

"Be that as it may, it was an extremely foolish thing to do. I'd have expected much more rational behavior on your part. Five points will be taken from Gryffindor...for your serious lack of judgment," McGonagall scolded her as best as she could, though it was clearly hard for her, being she was still in shock over seeing the knocked-out troll. She looked at Harry and Ron. "As for you two gentlemen...I just hope you realize how fortunate you are. Not many first-year students could take on a fully grown mountain troll, and live to tell the tale. Five points...will be awarded to each of you. For sheer dumb luck." With that, she left, with Snape limping out behind her. _That's odd. Why's he limping?_

"P-Perhaps you ought to go. M-Might wake up," Quirrell stuttered. Somehow, I got the feeling that Quirrell wasn't who he seemed to be. But I shrugged it off as we left. _I'm probably just imagining things._


	10. Our first Quidditch game

**Cassia's POV**

"Take a bit of toast, mates. Go on," Ron encouraged. Today was mine and Harry's first Quidditch match. To save us time getting ready later, we both had changed into our uniforms before heading down to breakfast. But we were so nervous, we couldn't eat.

"Ron's right, guys. You're gonna need your strength today," Hermione added.

"I'm not hungry," Harry muttered, picking at his food.

"Same," I agreed.

"Good luck today, Potters," a voice said behind him. It was Snape. "Then again, now that you've proven yourself against a troll, a little game of Quidditch should be easy work for you...even if it _is_ against Slytherin," he said, before limping away.

"That explains the blood," Harry whispered, once Snape was out of earshot.

"Blood?" Hermione echoed, confused.

"Listen, last night, I'm guessing Snape let the troll in as a diversion so he could try and get past that three-headed dog, _but_ he got himself bitten. That's why he's limping," Harry whispered.

"But why would anyone go near that dog?" Hermione asked.

"The day Hagrid and I went to Gringotts, he took something out of one of the vaults. He said it was Hogwarts business, very secret," Harry explained to us.

"So, that means..." I said, realizing something.

"That's what the dog's guarding. That's what Snape wants," Harry cut me off.

The sound of two owls screeching interrupted us. We all looked up to see Hedwig and Misty flying in our direction, each of them carrying a long, skinny, brown-wrapped object. They were each dropped, one at a time. Harry and I easily caught them.

"Bit early for mail, isn't it?" Hermione asked.

"But I...I never get mail," Harry said, surprised.

"Let's open them," Ron suggested. All four of us tore the wrapping paper off Harry's first, and then mine. My brother and I were in complete disbelief at what we'd been sent.

"Someone sent us broomsticks..." Harry said.

"Those aren't just broomsticks, guys. They're _Nimbus 2000_ s!" Ron exclaimed.

"But who sent them?" I wondered. Hedwig and Misty hooting seemed to answer my question, because when we looked at the staff table, both owls were sitting right by McGonagall. She sent us a not-so-secretive smile as she stroked their feathers.

Shortly after breakfast, Oliver took us outside, to an entrance to the Quidditch field that was marked, _Team Members Only_. Fred and George were already there, accompanied by three girls who looked to be around the same age as either them or Oliver. One girl had dark skin and black hair that she kept in a ponytail. The girl next to her had fair skin and light brown hair that she wore in a half-up half down style. And the last girl had tan skin and dark hair that she had in a ponytail, like the first girl.

"Harry, Cassia, you guys already know Fred and George, the Weasley twins. They're our Beaters. These are our chasers," Oliver said. "Angelina Johnson-" he gestured to the dark-skinned girl "Katie Bell-" he gestured to the girl on the far end, "-and Alicia Spinnet." He gestured to the girl with her hair half up. "Katie, Alicia, and Angelina are our Chasers. Girls, meet our new reserve Chaser, Cassia Potter," Oliver introduced us.

"Hello," I said, waving. The girls waved back.

"Alright, now that we're all acquainted, let's play some Quidditch!" Oliver said. We all went inside the _Team Members Only_ entrance. The door separating us from the field reminded me a little bit of a car garage door. I'd seen plenty of those in my hometown. Some of our neighbors had them.

I could hear students cheering faintly from behind the door, and I grew nervous. But I wasn't the only one. Harry was nervous, too.

"Scared, guys?" Oliver asked, glancing at us. I'm guessing he could sense it.

"A little," Harry replied.

"Same," I added.

"That's alright. I felt the same way before my first game," Oliver reassured us.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "What happened?" he asked.

"Uh...I don't really remember," Oliver replied, "Took a Bludger to the head 2 minutes in. Woke up in the Hospital Wing a week later."

 _Wow, that makes us feel SO much better_ , I thought. Note the sarcasm.

The door in front of us opened. We all mounted our brooms and flew out onto the field. So did the Slytherin team, decked out in green robes.

"Hello, and welcome to Hogwarts' first Quidditch game of the season! Today's game: Slytherin vs. Gryffindor!" the commentator - Lee Jordan - announced.

I could make out some people chanting, "Go! Go! Gryffindor!" over and over again, above all the cheering.

We formed a circle with the Slytherin players, about 10 feet off the ground. Madam Hooch came out, carrying the big trunk that held the Quaffle, Bludgers, and - last, but not least - the Snitch.

"The players take their positions as Madam Hooch steps out onto the field to begin the game," Lee announced.

Madam Hooch stared up at the teams. "Now I want a nice, clean game. From all of you," she ordered, looking at the Slytherins in particular. She kicked the trunk and it opened, releasing the Snitch and both Bludgers.

"The bludgers are up, followed by the golden snitch. Remember, the snitch is worth 150 points. The Seeker who catches the snitch ends the game," Lee said.

Madam Hooch picked up the Quaffle and tossed it into the air.

"The Quaffle is released, and the game begins!" Lee said.

Katie, Alicia, and Angelina fought it out with the Slytherins for the Quaffle, while I flew off to the side so I wouldn't get caught in the scuffle. I watched as Angelina made her way to the Slytherin team's goalposts, with the Quaffle tucked under her arm. One of the Slytherin Chasers bumped her, trying to knock the Quaffle out of her grip, but he was unsuccessful. Angelina ducked to avoid an oncoming Bludger, and hurled the Quaffle. It sailed right through one of the hoops. _Yes! Go, Angelina!_

"Angelina Johnsons scores! 10 points for Gryffindor!" Lee announced, "Slytherin takes possession of the Quaffle. Bletchley passes to captain Marcus Flint!"

Flint caught the Quaffle, narrowly avoiding a Bludger coming at him. One of the Chasers - I couldn't make out who it was - tried to steal it from him, but he kicked them out of his way, literally. He tried to score, but Oliver blocked it with his broom. Oliver smirked at Flint, making him really mad.

Flint and another Chaser tried to get the Quaffle back, but Alicia and Katie tossed it back and forth between each other, making it considerably difficult for them to get it. Katie tossed the Quaffle to Alicia, who made a U-turn around the Slytherin goalposts and tossed it to Angelina. Angelina tossed the Quaffle into one of the hoops, scoring once again.

"Another 10 points for Gryffindor!" Lee announced.

I fist-pumped. _Gryffindor's in the lead!_

Flint tried to score for Slytherin, but once again, Oliver stopped him. Annoyed, Flint took a bat from one of the Slytherin beaters and hit a Bludger at Oliver. Oliver was knocked off his broom and onto the ground below. With the hoops open, one of Flint's teammates scored the first goal for Slytherin.

Flint and another Chaser went for Angelina, who was in possession of the Quaffle again. They sandwiched her in between them, steering her into one of the tallest stands reserved for the teachers. She dropped to the ground far below, unconscious and looking seriously hurt.

Flint doubled back to the Gryffindor goalposts. He threw the Quaffle in the air and hit it with the back of his broom, scoring another goal. Now the score was all tied up.

I flew out onto the field, immediately going after Flint. _If these rotten Slytherins think they're going to get away with winning by blatantly cheating, they've got another thing coming._ My broom got closer and closer to Flint's, until I was right next to him. I leaned to the right, and then back in his direction, bumping him hard. He bumped me back, and I did the same thing. But this time, I hit him _way_ harder, knocking the Quaffle out of his hands. _Mission accomplished._ I made a dive and caught the Quaffle with one hand. Then I made a sharp turn and zoomed towards the Slytherin goalposts. But when I was about halfway there, my broom started acting up. It rolled around - making me go upside down - tried to buck me off, and jerked around like crazy. I don't know how the heck I managed to hold on to the broom _and_ the Quaffle at the same time, but I did. Bletchley, Flint, and the third Chaser on Slytherin's team surrounded me, circling like hawks, waiting for me to drop the Quaffle. I heard a familiar shout coming from the other end of the field, and I turned to see it was Harry. His broom was going berserk, too. The force of it jerking him was so powerful that Harry almost fell off his broom. Luckily, he was able to hold on, but he was now dangling above the ground, holding on for his life.

"Harry, what's going on with the brooms?" I called out to him.

"I don't know!" he called back.

I looked around to see if anyone in the audience was involved, but then I saw Snape was moving his lips from where he sat in the stands. _He's behind this!_ But then I saw part of his cloak was lit on fire, and he frantically tried to stamp it out, knocking Quirrell - who was sitting behind him - over in the process. With the fire keeping Snape busy, mine and Harry's brooms stopped acting up. Now we could focus on the match again.

Harry swung himself onto his broom again, taking off to go find the Snitch.

"Go, Harry!" I cheered, before making a break for the Slytherin's goalposts. I leaned forward, urging my broom to go faster, and chucked the Quaffle as hard as I could. It went right through one of the hoops.

"Reserve Chaser Cassia Potter scores another 10 points for Gryffindor!" Lee Jordan announced, "Now Gryffindor leads, 30-20!"

"Nice job, Cassia!" Alicia called out to me.

"Thanks! You, too!" I called back.

Everything soon came to a halt when I saw Harry fall to the ground. He stood up, clutching his stomach like he was going to throw up.

"Harry, are you okay?" I asked, flying closer to him.

In response, Harry coughed up the Snitch, catching it in both hands.

"He's got the snitch!" the commentator exclaimed, "Harry Potter receives 150 points for catching the snitch!"

Madam Hooch blew her whistle as she flew across the field. "Gryffindor wins!" she shouted.

We all cheered. Harry and I had just won our first Quidditch match. Well, technically, Harry won because he caught the Snitch, but still, we both helped score a victory for our house team.

"Nonsense! Why would Snape put a curse on Harry's broom?" Hagrid barked. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and I had gone for a walk with Hagrid on the grounds. We told him how we thought it was Snape who'd jinxed mine and Harry's brooms. And from what Hermione had told me, Snape's cloak catching on fire was her doing, so she and Ron were obviously thinking along our lines. But for some reason, Hagrid didn't agree.

"I dunno. Why was he trying to get past that 3-headed dog on Halloween?" Harry retorted.

"Who told you about Fluffy?" Hagrid asked.

"Fluffy?!" Ron said in shock.

"That thing has a name?!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Well, o' course he's got a name. He's mine. Bought him off an Irish fellow in the pub last year, and I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the, uh..." Hagrid explained.

"Yes?" Harry pressed.

"I shouldn'tve said that," Harris muttered. He looked back at us. "No more questions. Don't ask anymore questions. That's top secret, that is."

"But Hagrid, whatever Fluffy's guarding, Snape's trying to steal it," Harry pressed.

"Codswallop. Professor Snape is a Hogwarts teacher," Hagrid argued.

"Hogwarts teacher or not, I know a spell when I see one. I've read all about them. You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking," Hermione insisted.

"Exactly," Harry added.

I nodded in agreement.

"Now, you listen to me- all 4 of yeh. You're meddlin' in things not ought to be meddled in. It's dangerous. What that dog is guarding is strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel," Hagrid barked.

"Nicholas Flamel?" Harry repeated.

Hagrid slowly walked away, muttering to himself how he shouldn't have mentioned that. We all exchanged looks. None of us knew anything about Nicholas Flamel. How did he tie into the mystery behind Fluffy guarding the trapdoor on the third floor? This just made me even more confused.


	11. A strange first Christmas at Hogwarts

**Cassia's POV**

Weeks had gone by since the troll incident, and now Christmas break had just started. Almost everyone was going home for the holidays. Ron, Harry, and I were some of the few people who weren't. There was no way Harry was going back to our aunt and uncle, and Ron's parents were in Romania visiting his older brother Charlie. So I figured I might as well stay with them- they could use the extra company.

I sat in the Great Hall, next to Harry. He and Ron were playing wizard's chess, and I was eagerly watching them. Every so often, I'd give Harry hints on where to move.

"Knight to E5," Harry said, his eyes on the chess board. His piece moved two spots upward, and one spot to the right. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Hermione coming towards us, with her stuff packed.

"Queen to E5," Ron said, also not taking his eyes off the chess board. One of his pieces moved to where Harry's knight was, and literally knocked it off the board.

"That's totally barbaric," Hermione remarked.

"That's wizard's chess," Ron retorted. He glanced at her suitcase. "I see you've packed."

"See you haven't," Hermione countered.

"Change of plans. My parents decided to go to Romania, to visit my brother Charlie. He's studying dragons there," Ron explained nonchalantly.

"Good. You and Cassia can help Harry, then. He's going to look in the library for information on Nicholas Flamel," Hermione replied.

"We've looked a hundred times!" Ron protested.

Hermione leaned towards us. "Not in the Restricted Section," she corrected. She straightened up once again. "Happy Christmas." Then she left, dragging her suitcase with her.

 **Harry's POV**

When Christmas morning finally came, I was woken up considerably early by Ron shouting, "Harry, Cassia, wake up! C'mon, guys, wake up!"

I jumped out of bed and raced to the top of the staircase. Ron looked up at me from where he stood in the common room, holding a bag of Every Flavor beans in his hand. "Happy Christmas, Harry," he said.

"Happy Christmas, Ron," I said back. I noticed he had on a dark purple jumper with an 'R' on the front. "What are you wearing?"

Ron glanced at his jumper. "Oh, Mum made it," he replied. He then snuck a peek at the neatly-wrapped presents piled under the tree. "Looks like you and Cass have got one, too!"

"I...I've got presents?" I questioned, unable to believe it.

"Yeah," Ron said, "Now go wake Cass!"

Unable to wipe the smile off my face, I rushed to Cassia's dorm and knocked on the door.

 **Cassia's POV**

The sound of someone knocking on my door woke me up. I climbed out of bed and grabbed a brush and an elastic from my bedside table, and put my hair up into a messy ponytail. Another knock.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming. Keep your shirt on," I commented. My sarcastic streak usually doesn't start this early in the morning, but today was an exception. I crossed over to the door and opened it to see it was Harry.

"Happy Christmas, sis," he said, hugging me.

I returned the hug. "You too, Harry. What're you doing up so early?"

"Ron wants to open presents. We've both got something from his mother," he replied, "Come on! Come see!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me down the stairs, where Ron was waiting for us.

We all eagerly tore through the wrapping paper on our presents. Ron was right- Harry and I _did_ get a hand-knitted jumper from Mrs. Weasley. His was green, while mine was a bright red. I also got gifts from Dora, Ted and Andromeda, Hermione, Harry, Ron and his family, and - surprisingly - Cedric. Dora had given me a funny sweater that said 'Oh, snap'. My adoptive parents had sent me a pair of fuzzy black boots. Harry gave me a t-shirt that said 'Best Sister Ever'. Ironically enough, I'd gotten him a shirt that said 'Best Brother Ever'. His face was priceless! Ron gave me a pack of Every Flavor Beans and sugar quills. Hermione had gotten me a lion plushie and a book on Quidditch. And last - but _definitely_ not least - Cedric had given me a Snitch necklace. The card that came with it said _For the girl who's gonna give every Chaser in Hogwarts a run for their money. Merry Christmas, Cassia!  
Your friend,  
Cedric :)_

The last one was a lumpy parcel with no tag on it, so we couldn't see who it was from.  
I read the note that came with it. " _Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you twins. Use it well_..." That's it. It didn't say who it was from. Harry helped me rip off the packaging, and we saw this enormous cloth, long enough to be a cloak of some kind.

"What is it?" Ron asked, as he dug into some candy.

"It's some kind of...cloak," Harry answered, holding it up.

"Well, let's see, then. Put it on," Ron said. Harry draped it around himself, and most of his body vanished.

"Whoa!" Ron and I exclaimed in sync.

Harry looked down at his legs, shocked to see that they weren't there. "My body's gone!" he exclaimed.

"I know what that is- that's an Invisibility Cloak!" Ron said.

"I'm invisible?" Harry questioned, turning around in circles, trying to check himself out.

"Really rare," Ron noted, "Who gave it to you guys?"

"There was no name," I answered, showing Ron the card.

Harry came over to us, still invisible. "It just said...'Use it well'," he chimed in. _Wow, this thing could come in handy._

* * *

That night, Harry woke me up to look in the Restricted Section of the Library. We put on our dad's old cloak, and headed down to the library. I held up a lantern, so we could see the titles of the books we were going to look at. Harry cautiously unlatched the door to the Restricted Section, and I held the lantern up at the books with an "F" at the beginning.

"Famous Fire Eaters...Fifteenth-Century Fiends...Flamel...Nicholas Flamel...where are you?" Harry whispered.  
We took the cloak off and I saw Harry pull a book from the shelf. I set the lantern down as Harry opened the book. An ear-piercing scream erupted from within the pages, and we snapped the book shut, placing it back on the shelf.

"Who's there?" a voice barked. It was Filch.

Harry pulled the cloak out from under the lantern. The lantern rolled off the table and shattered. We threw the cloak over ourselves quickly.

"Who is it? Show me yourself!" Filch barked, heading into the Restricted Section.

Harry and I made our way out of the library, still invisible, and into the hallway, where we saw Snape pinning Quirrell to the wall.

"Severus, I...I-I-I-" Quirrell stuttered.

"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," Snape warned him.

"But really, Severus..." Quirrell pleaded, "I-I-I don't k-know what you m-mean."

"You know perfectly well what I mean," Snape replied. He suddenly looked towards where we were standing, and slowly stretched out a hand. Oh, no! He was going to try and rip the cloak off us!

Harry and I slowly backed away, just barely escaping Snape's clutches.

When Snape looked at his hand and saw he had gotten nothing, he turned back to Quirrell. "We'll have another little chat soon. Maybe then you'll decide where your loyalties lie," he sneered. Then we heard footsteps coming our way, so Harry and I took off running. I couldn't believe how close we were to being discovered invisible...by Snape, of all people!

We came into an empty room, with nothing but a mirror in it. We took the cloak off us, making sure we were alone, and then cautiously advanced towards the mirror. There was something engraved in it: _Erised streahr uoyt ubecaf ruoyt on wohsi._ Wait a minute. "Desire" spelled backwards is "Erised". The mirror shows us what we want.

Harry stepped closer to the mirror. He gazed into it for a long time, but he looked on either side of him. "Cass...Cass, come here," he said, not looking at me.

I cautiously approached the mirror, standing side by side with Harry. We saw not only our own reflections, but two other people standing behind us inside the mirror. The woman had layered hair that grew just past her shoulders, and wore a simple black sweater. Her eyes were a striking green, just like mine and Harry's. The man bore a strong resemblance to Harry, except for the scar, not to mention he looked much older.  
"Mom?" I whispered. Mum smiled at my words.

"Dad?" Harry whispered. Our father nodded, grinning. Harry put his hand up to the mirror. So did his reflection. Harry pressed his hand against the smooth surface of the mirror. Mom put her hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry touched his hand to his shoulder, only to see nothing there. A tear rolled down my cheek. This was what out family was like...before Voldemort killed them.  
I was so distracted by the sight of my parents in the mirror that I didn't notice Harry had left the room. It felt like only minutes before I heard him return. But he wasn't alone. I turned around to see he had Ron with him.

"Come, look! It's our parents!" Harry said. He and Ron ran towards me, and I stepped away from the mirror.

"I only see us," Ron objected, after peering tentatively into the mirror.

"Look in properly. Go on, stand there," Harry said. He pulled him directly in front of the mirror. "There. You see them, don't you? That's-" He pointed to our mum.

"That's me!" Ron cut him off, "Only, I'm...Head Boy. And I'm holding the Quidditch Cup. And bloody hell! I'm Quidditch captain, too!" he exclaimed, gazing at his reflection. Harry looked confused. "I look good," Ron said to himself. He looked back at us. "Harry, Cassia, do you think this mirror shows the future?"

"How can it? Both of our parents are dead," Harry said.

* * *

The next night, we both gazed into the mirror. Thank Merlin I wasn't wearing any makeup, otherwise I'd have other problems, if you know what I mean.  
"Back again, you two?" someone said behind us, making me jump. We turned around to see it was Dumbledore. He had been watching us this whole time. "I see that you, like so many before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised," he remarked, "I trust, by now, you realize what it does?"

Harry shook his head.

Mustering my courage, I stepped in. "The engraving's written backwards," I pointed out, "If you rearrange the letters, it reads 'I show not your face but your heart's desire'."

"Correct, Cassia. The happiest man on earth would look into this mirror and see only himself, exactly as he is," Dumbledore told us.

"So it shows us...what we want. Whatever we want," Harry added, realizing what this meant.

"Yes...and no. It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest desires of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing beside you," Dumbledore explained.

Harry and I both nodded.

"Yes, sir. We saw our parents...before they were killed," I said.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes. But remember this: This mirror gives us neither knowledge nor truth. Men have wasted away in front of it...even gone mad," he told us, "That is why, tomorrow, it will be moved to a new home. And I must ask you not to go looking for it again."


	12. The Sorcerer's Stone and Hagrid'spet

**Cassia's POV**

Winter break had come and gone, and we had final exams coming up in a couple of months. One day, Harry, Ron, and I were studying in the Great Hall. Well, Ron wasn't studying. He was going through his Chocolate Frog cards. Hedwig flew to our table, landing in front of Harry.

"Hi, Hedwig," I said, stroking her feathers. She nibbled my finger affectionately.

"I think she likes you, Cass," Harry noted.

"Look at you, playing with your cards. Pathetic! We've got finale exams coming up," Hermione admonished.

Ron put his cards down. "I'm ready. Ask me any question," he challenged.

"Alright. What are the three most crucial ingredients in a Forgetfulness Potion?" Hermione asked.

Ron looked down. "I forgot..."

"And what, may I ask, do you plan to do if this comes up in the final exam?" Hermione asked.

"Copy off you," Ron shot back.

"No you won't. Besides, according to Professor McGonagall, we're to be given special quills bewitched with an Anti-Cheating Spell," Hermione stated.

"That's insulting! It's as if they don't trust us!" Ron protested. He looked at one of his cards and groaned. "Dumbledore again!" Just then, Neville came bunny-hopping into the Great Hall. Almost everyone else started laughing.

"Leg-Locker Curse?" Ron wondered aloud.

"Malfoy," Harry and I said in unison. Neville hopped his way to our table.

"You have got to start standing up to people, Neville," said Ron.

"But how? I can barely stand at all," Neville replied, trying not to lose his balance.

Seamus jumped up. "I'll do the counter-curse," he said.

"No, that's all I need. You to set my bloody kneecaps on fire," Neville objected.

That definitely hurt. Seamus slammed his wand down. "I don't appreciate the insinuation, Longbottom! Besides, if anyone cares to notice, my eyebrows have completely grown back!" he said, pointing to his eyebrows. He turned and walked away, giving us all a glimpse of a burnt spot on the back of his head. Hermione and I tried not to laugh.

"I found him!" Harry exclaimed, pointing to a card. "'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, his discovery of the twelve uses of dragon blood, and for his work on alchemy with his partner Nicholas Flamel,'" he read aloud. We all looked at each other and raced to the library.

"I had you looking in the wrong section- how could I be so stupid?!" Hermione exclaimed, dropping a book in front of us with a loud THUMP. "I checked this out weeks ago for a bit of light reading," she added, flipping through the pages. The book was enormous, and I wouldn't exactly call it _light_ reading if it made that much of a noise when Hermione dropped it.

" _This_ is light?" Ron asked, as if reading my mind.

Hermione just glared at him and continued to flip through the book. "Of course! Here it is!" she exclaimed, putting a finger on one page. " _Nicholas Flamel is the only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone_ ," she read to us.

"The _what_?!" Harry, Ron, and I asked, in complete unison.

Hermione sighed. "Honestly, don't those two read, Cassia?" she asked. I shrugged in response. She continued reading. " _The Sorcerer's Stone is a legendary substance with astonishing powers. It can transform any metal into pure gold, and produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal_."

"Immortal?" Ron repeated.

"It means you'll never die," Hermione explained.

"I know what it means!" Ron snapped. Harry and I shushed him, wanting to know more.

" _The only stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicholas Flamel, the noted alchemist, who, last year, celebrated his 665th birthday_ ," Hermione finished reading. She looked at us. " _That's_ what Fluffy's guarding on the third floor. That's what's under the trapdoor-the Sorcerer's Stone."

That night, we threw on the cloak and headed to Hagrid's. I knocked on the door. Hagrid opened it and said, "Oh, hello. Sorry, I'm in no state to entertain tonight." He started to close the door.

"We know about the Sorcerer's Stone!" All four of us said in sync.

Hagrid let us in and shut the door.

"We think Snape's going to try and steal it," Harry added as we all sat down.

"Snape? Blimey, you're not still on about that, are yeh? Look, Snape is one of the teachers protecting the Stone- he's not about ter steal it," Hagrid denied.

"Wait a minute. _One_ of the teachers?" I repeated.

"Of course! There are other things protecting the stone, aren't there? Spells, enchantments," Hermione trailed off.

"Exactly. Waste o' time, if you ask me. Ain't nobody able ter get past Fluffy. Ain't a soul knows how, 'cept fer me an' Dumbledore. I shouldn't have told you that," Hagrid said, muttering the last part.

Just then, we heard a clanging sound coming from the fire. Hagrid walked over to the fireplace, wearing oven mitts, and cautiously took what looked like a giant egg out of the pot and placed it on the table for us to see.

"Hagrid, what exactly is that?" Harry asked.

"I know what that is!" Ron said, excitement in his voice, "But Hagrid, however did you get one?"

"I won it. Off a stranger I met in the pub. Seemed quite happy ter be rid of it, to be honest," Hagrid answered.

We heard the egg crack. It cracked again, and then it hatched. Pieces of the egg's shell went flying all over the place. A baby dragon stood in the middle of the table. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I all looked at it with wide eyes.

"Is that...a dragon?" Hermione asked.

"That's not just a dragon...that's a Norwegian Ridgeback," Ron replied, "My brother Charlie works with these in Romania."

"Ain't he beautiful? Oh, bless him, he knows his mummy," Hagrid said, stroking the dragon. "Hello, Norbert," he cooed.

"Norbert?" Harry and I repeated.

"Well, he's gotta have a name, don't he?" Hagrid defended. He tickled Norbert under his chin, making Norbert sneeze straight at Hagrid. His beard caught on fire. "He'll have to be trained up a bit, of course," Hagrid muttered as he patted his beard to put out the flames. He looked out the window. "Who's that?" he asked. We all looked to see a blur of platinum hair running away.

"Malfoy," I spat.

"Oh, dear..." Hagrid mumbled.

We all hurried back to the castle as fast as our legs would carry us.

"Hagrid always wanted a dragon. He said so the first time I met him," Harry explained.

"Now he's got one. And worse, Malfoy knows," Ron added.

"I don't understand. Is that bad?" Hermione asked.

"It's bad," I replied.

"Good evening," McGonagall said, appearing in front of us. Malfoy came out and stood beside her. I would've hexed him right then and there if it hadn't been for Harry holding my arm so I couldn't take out my wand.

McGonagall led us into her classroom. "Nothing, I repeat, nothing gives a student the right to walk about the school at night," she scolded us, "Therefore, as punishment for your actions, fifty points will be taken."

My jaw dropped.

"Fifty?!" Harry and I exclaimed in disbelief.

"Each," McGonagall continued, eyeing all 5 of us. "And to ensure it doesn't happen again, all 5 of you will receive detention." At this, I was even more shocked. 200 points from Gryffindor? _Oh, no, they'll never let us live this down once they find out we've put our house in last place!_

Malfoy frowned. "Excuse me, Professor," he said, coming closer. "Perhaps I heard you wrong. I heard you say the _5_ of us."

"No, you heard me correctly, Mr. Malfoy. You see, as honorable as your intentions were, you, too, were out of bed after hours. You will join your classmates in detention," McGonagall told him. At this, Malfoy had a look of horror on his face.

I smirked. "That's karma for you, Malfoy."

"Shut up, brat," Malfoy shot back at me.

"Brat? _That's_ the best you could come up with?" I asked.

"You want worse?" Malfoy challenged.

"Bring it on," I snapped, pointing my wand at him.

"Enough!" McGonagall almost shouted, making both of us jump. "Unless you desire to lose more points for Gryffindor or Slytherin, I would not advise violence," she warned us.

I put my wand down, but made an I'm-watching-you gesture at Malfoy, before McGonagall sent us all back to our dormitories.


	13. Detention in the Forbidden Forest

**Cassia's POV**

As I'd anticipated, the next morning, everyone in our house was _really_ mad at us. I heard some people talking behind our backs, particularly about Harry and I. And as if things couldn't get any worse, our detention was tonight.

"A pity they let the old punishments die," Filch muttered. Our detention was going to be outside the school, so Filch was the one escorting us. _Joy._ "Was a time detention would find you hanging by your thumbs in the dungeons," he said to us, "God, I'll miss the screaming. You'll be serving detention with Hagrid tonight. He's got a little job to do...inside the Dark Forest." I gulped. At least we weren't serving detention with Snape- that'd be a nightmare.

"Evening, Hagrid," Filch greeted as we came to Hagrid's hut. We saw Hagrid holding his crossbow under one arm. He looked like he'd been crying. "Not still going on about that bloody dragon, are you?" Filch asked.

Hagrid sniffled. "Norbert's gone. Dumbledore sent him off ter Romania, to live in a colony," he said.

"Well, that's good, isn't it? He'll be with his own kind," Hermione assured him.

"Yeah, but what if he don't like Romania? What if the other dragons are mean to him? He's only a baby, after all," Hagrid protested. I felt bad for Hagrid. He loved Norbert, like a mother would love her son.

"Oh, for God's sake, man, pull yourself together. You're going into the forest, after all. Got to have your wits about ya," Filch snapped.

"The forest? I thought that was a joke," Malfoy protested, "We can't go in there. Students aren't allowed. And there are...werewolves." We heard a howl in the distance, as if to confirm his words.

"There's more than werewolves in there," Filch warned Malfoy, "Nighty night." He turned around and walked back into the castle.

We followed Hagrid into the forest. I have to admit, it _was_ a little creepy, but I knew I had to be brave. Soon, we came to a little puddle of what looked like clear, silvery gel. Hagrid stuck his hand into the gel, inspecting it.

"Hagrid, what's that?" I asked, half curious and half afraid.

Hagrid turned back to us. "What we're here for. See that?" he said, holding up two gel-covered fingers. "That's unicorn blood, that is. I found one dead, few weeks ago. This one's been hurt bad by somethin'. So...it's our job to go and find the poor beast. Ron, Hermione, you'll come with me."

"Okay," Ron said, shaking.

"And Harry, Cassia, you'll go with Malfoy," Hagrid added, turning to us. _We're with snotty, stuck-up, thinks-he's-better-than-everyone-else Malfoy? Are you kidding me?_ I thought to myself.

"Okay, but I get Fang," Malfoy said.

"Fine. Just so's yeh know...he's a bloody coward," Hagrid warned us. Fang whined.

"Wait 'til my father hears about this. This is servant's stuff," Malfoy protested as we walked through the forest. I was holding the lantern, and Fang trotted along side me.

"Snob," I muttered under my breath.

"What did you say, brat?" Malfoy asked, getting angry at me.

"If I didn't know better, Draco, I'd say you were scared," Harry teased.

Malfoy scoffed. "I'm not scared, Potter," he spat. We heard an owl hooting, and Malfoy tensed up. "Did you hear that?" he asked, sounding a little nervous.

I snickered. "And he says he's not scared," I whispered to Harry, who covered his mouth to try and keep from laughing. "Come on, Fang," I said to the boarhound, as we continued on. I just wanted to find the poor unicorn and get the heck out of that forest.

We continued our trek through the forest, but stopped when we heard a growl.

"What's that?" I asked, grabbing Harry's arm as I looked around for the source of the growl, which was replaced by the sound of loud slurping. My gaze fell on the sight in front of us. A black-hooded figure was hunched over the unicorn, with clear, silvery liquid down its front. I lifted a hand to my temple, my scar throbbing with pain. I heard Harry inhale sharply, meaning he could feel it as well. The creature looked up at us, growling. Malfoy screamed like a little girl and fled the scene, Fang following close behind him. The creature glided over to us, and Harry backed away, pulling me with him. He tripped over a root in the ground, and I fell on top of him. I buried my face in his chest, bracing myself for what I thought for sure would be a terrible demise. Harry wrapped a protective arm around me. But before the creature could lay a hand on us, I heard the sound of hooves galloping, and the creature hissing. I looked out towards the spot where the hooded monster had been. It wasn't there anymore. In its place was a centaur. _He must've scared the monster off_. As he trotted over to us, I got a good look at him. He had curly, dark hair and a goatee. "Harry Potter...Cassia Potter...you must leave. You are known to many creatures here. The forest is not safe at this time of night, especially for you," he admonished us.

"What was that thing you saved us from?" I asked.

"A monstrous creature," the centaur replied, "It is a terrible crime to slay a unicorn. Drinking the blood of a unicorn will keep you alive even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. For you have slain something so pure, that the moment the blood touches your lips, you will have a half life. A cursed life."

"But who would choose such a life?" Harry pressed.

"Can you think of no one?" asked the centaur.

"Do you mean to say, that...that thing that killed the unicorn...that was drinking its blood...that was Voldemort?" Harry questioned, putting two and two together.

"And do you both know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?" the centaur asked, leaning in towards us.

I thought for a moment, and then Harry and I looked at each other. We were both thinking the same thing. "The Sorcerer's Stone," we whispered simultaneously. Just then, we heard Fang bark.

"Harry! Cassia!" Hermione exclaimed, stopping just behind Fang.

Hagrid came in as well. "Hello there, Firenze. See you've met our young Mr. and Miss Potter," he said.

"Harry Potter...Cassia Potter...this is where I leave you. You are safe now. Good luck," Firenze said, before leaving.

Nearly half an hour later, we were back in the castle. Ron, Harry, Hermione, and I all sat down in the Gryffindor common room. Harry and I had just told Hermione about our encounter with the man who had murdered our parents.

"You mean You-Know-Who's out there right now, in the forest?" Hermione asked, clearly in shock.

"I know. I didn't believe it either, at first," I replied.

"But he's weak," Harry cut in, "He's living off unicorns. Don't you see? I had it wrong! Snape doesn't want the stone for himself, he wants the stone for Voldemort. With the Elixir of Life, Voldemort will be strong again. He'll..." he shook his head. "...he'll come back."

"But if-if he comes back, you don't think he'll try to...kill you, do you?" Ron asked.

"I think if he'd had the chance, he might've tried to kill us tonight," Harry responded.

I nodded in agreement. "If Firenze hadn't stepped in when he did..."

Ron gulped. "And to think, I've been worrying about my Potions final," he said.

"Hang on a moment. We're forgetting one thing. Who's the one wizard Voldemort always feared?" Hermione asked us. We were silent. "Dumbledore," she answered, "As long as Dumbledore's around, Harry, you're safe. As long as Dumbledore's around, you can't be touched. And neither can Cassia."

That made both harry and I feel a bit better, knowing we were protected.

The next week was torture. Every day, we had final exams. Mine went okay, but I was so worried about the stone and You-Know-Who coming back, that I couldn't concentrate in Potions or Defense Against the Dark Arts. Plus my scar burned like crazy.

"I've always heard Hogwarts end-of-the-year exams were frightful, but I found them rather enjoyable," Hermione remarked. All 4 of us were walking around the outside of the school, since exams were over.

"Alright, Harry? Cassia?" Ron asked.

"My scar...it keeps burning," Harry muttered, wincing slightly.

"Mine is, too," I mumbled, inhaling sharply at the pain.

"It's happened before," Hermione noted.

"Yeah, but not like this," I countered, wincing.

"Perhaps you should see the nurse," Ron suggested.

"I think it's a warning...means danger's coming," Harry replied, grimacing. We suddenly heard somebody playing a flute in the distance. Harry and I looked over to Hagrid's hut and saw him playing a flute.

"Oh...of course," Harry muttered, walking away. We hurried to catch up to him.

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"Don't you think its a bit odd, that what Hagrid wants more than anything is a dragon, and a stranger shows up and just happens to have one? I mean, how many people wander around with dragon eggs in their pocket? Why didn't I see it before?" Harry questioned. He ran to Hagrid's hut, us following closely behind him. Hagrid put his flute down as soon as he saw us.

"Hagrid, who gave you the dragon egg? What did he look like?" I asked.

Hagrid put down his flute. "I dunno," he answered, "I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."

"This stranger, though, you and he must've talked," Harry pressed.

"Well, he wanted to know what kind o' creatures I looked after. I told him, I said 'After Fluffy, a dragon's gotta be no problem'," Hagrid replied.

"Did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked. It was kind of a rhetorical question.

"Well, of course he was interested in Fluffy. How often do ya come across a three-headed dog, even if you're in the trade? But I told him, I said, I said 'The trick with any beast is to know how to calm him.' Take Fluffy, for example; just play him a bit o' music and he falls straight to sleep," Hagrid explained. We all exchanged worried looks with each other. "I shouldn't have told you that," he muttered.

We ran back into the castle as fast as our legs would carry us, leaving Hagrid back at his hut. Those two minutes of running felt like hours before we reached McGonagall's classroom. Other than her, the only other person in the room was a ghost, but the ghost took no notice of us. We ran up to McGonagall's desk. She looked up as soon as she saw us.

"We have to see Professor Dumbledore. Immediately," Harry panted.

"I'm afraid Professor Dumbledore is not here. He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and left immediately for London," McGonagall explained, calmly. How can she be calm at a time like this?

"He's gone? Now? But this is important! This is about the Sorcerer's Stone!" Harry begged.

"How do you know-" McGonagall began to ask.

"Someone's going to try and steal it!" I cut her off.

"I don't know how you four know about the stone, but I assure you, it is perfectly well protected," Now, would you go back to your dormitories? Quietly." We left her classroom, stopping just outside her door.

"That was no stranger Hagrid met that night. It was Snape, which means he knows how to get past Fluffy," Harry told us.

"And with Dumbledore gone-" Hermione started to say.

"Good afternoon," a voice behind me cut us off. We turned around to see Snape staring down at us. "Now, what would four youngsters such as yourselves be doing inside, on a day like this?" he asked. All four of us were lost for words.

"U-Uh...we...we were just-" Hermione stuttered.

"Be careful," Snape warned, "People will think you're..." he looked towards Harry, "...up to something." He walked off, his robes flowing behind him.

"Now what'll we do?" Hermione asked, once Snape was out of earshot from us.

"We go down the trapdoor," Harry replied.

"Tonight," I added.


	14. Operation: Save the Stone!

**Cassia's POV**

We had a plan. Tonight, once everyone was asleep, we were going to sneak up to the third floor and stop Snape from getting the Sorcerer's Stone. And this time, we _weren't_ forgetting the Invisibility Cloak. To save us time, we'd changed into "street clothes" after dinner, when we got back to our dorms (Hermione's suggestion) and pretended to go to sleep while we waited for our roommates to retire to bed as well. It felt like forever to wait, but we stuck it out.

I sat up, pulling back the covers, and looked over at Hermione. "It's go time," I whispered. Hermione nodded in agreement.  
We slipped out of our dorm as quietly as we could. Lucky for us, our roommates were heavy sleepers. Ron would've made a comment about girls taking too long if I hadn't sent him a death glare. As we came down the stairs, we heard a toad croaking. I inwardly groaned.

"Trevor," Harry muttered. I spotted Trevor on the arm of a chair, which was facing away from us.

"Trevor, shh! Go! You shouldn't be here!" Ron whisper-yelled.

"Neither should you," Neville added, poking his head out from behind the chair. He'd been sitting here this whole time. _If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was waiting for us to come down._ "You're sneaking out again, aren't you?" he pressed.

"No, Neville. Listen. we-" Harry started to protest.

"No! I won't let you! You'll get Gryffindor into trouble again," Neville cut him off. He got into a fighting stance, looking a little anxious. "I-I-I'll fight you," he stammered.

Hermione got out her wand. "Neville, I'm really, really sorry about this," she apologized. " _Petrificus Totalus_!" She flicked the tip of her wand at Neville. His arms snapped to his sides and he fell flat on his back, stiff as a board.

"You're a little scary sometimes. You know that? Brilliant...but scary," Ron commented. Clearly he was now intimidated by Hermione. And he _should_ be.

We carefully stepped around Neville's still body, whispering apologies to him as we headed for the portrait hole. Once we were out of the common room, we all got under the Invisibility Cloak and headed for the third floor.

"Ow, you stood on my foot!" Hermione whisper-yelled at Ron as we walked.

"Sorry," Ron muttered. Not long after he'd said this, we reached the third-floor corridor.

Hermione pointed her wand at the door standing between us and Fluffy. " _Alohomora_ ," she whispered.

The door opened, and I expected to hear Fluffy growling. But I didn't. Instead, I heard the sound of a harp playing itself and low grumbles coming from each of Fluffy's three heads. But their eyes were closed.

Harry stopped short, making us stop as well. "Wait a minute," he said. "He's..." -Fluffy's breath blew the cloak right off us- "...snoring."

My eyes widened as I remembered something Hagrid had mentioned earlier today. "Of course!Remember what Hagrid said about Fluffy? 'Play him a bit of music and he falls straight to sleep'!" I silently exclaimed.

Harry looked at me. "You're right, sis," he agreed. He glanced at the harp. "Snape's already been here. He's put a spell on the harp..."

We edged closer to the giant dog.

"Ugh...it's got horrible breath," Ron complained, making me roll my eyes. We advanced even closer to the dog, and saw it had a paw on top of the trapdoor, blocking it.

"We have to move its paw," Harry said.

Ron paled. "What?!" he protested.

"Come on," Harry and I both said at the same time. We looked at each other and smiled, trying hard not to laugh.

The four of us got closer and pushed Fluffy's paw off the trapdoor.

"I'll go first," Harry volunteered, "Don't follow until I give you a sign. If something bad happens, get yourselves out." He paused. "Does it seem a bit...quiet to you?" he asked us.

I listened for a moment and realized something- I couldn't hear the harp anymore. "The harp..."

"It stopped playing," Hermione added, as if she'd read my mind.

Fluffy drooled on Ron's shoulder. Ron looked at it and had this totally-grossed-out look on his face. "Ugh...yuck!" he exclaimed.

"Trust me, Ron. The drool's the least of our problems," I said, looking up. The others followed my gaze to see Fluffy looming over us, growling and baring his teeth. _Uh oh..._

"Jump!" Harry yelled. I jumped in first, Harry following close behind me. We landed beside each other on a weird plant. Hermione landed to my right, followed by a screaming Ron.

"Whoa. Lucky this plant thing's here, really," Ron commented.

Suddenly the plant started moving.

"Whoa!" Harry exclaimed, nearly jumping out of his skin. The plant coiled itself around Harry's legs, and it squeezed my arms tightly. I squirmed, trying to get away, but my legs and torso were quickly bound as well. So were Ron and Hermione. The more we moved, the tighter the plant bound us.

Hermione froze. "Stop moving, all of you!" she ordered us, "This is Devil's Snare. You have to relax. If you don't, it'll only kill you faster!"

"Kill us faster? Oh, NOW I can relax!" Ron snapped, continuing to fight against the Snare.

Hermione remained still, and the coils wrapped around her loosened, causing her to fall through the floor.

"Hermione!" we all yelled.

"Now what are we gonna do?" Ron wailed.

"Just relax!" we heard Hermione saying from underneath us.

"Hermione, where are you?" Harry asked.

"Do what I say! Trust me!" Hermione shouted.

Harry shut his eyes tight and stopped moving. The snare loosened its grip on him. I did the same, and the snare let us both go.

"Ahh! Harry! Cassia!" Ron shouted as we fell through the snare and onto a hard floor.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, helping us both up.

"Yeah, we're fine," I answered. Ron was still screaming his head off.

"He's not relaxing, _is_ he?" Hermione asked.

"Apparently not," said Harry.

"At the risk of stating the obvious, no," I added.

"We've got to do something!" Hermione exclaimed, getting nervous.

"Like what?" I asked.

"I remember reading something in Herbology. Um...'Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare, it's deadly fun...but will sulk in the sun'! That's it! Devil's Snare hates sunlight!" Hermione exclaimed, remembering what she'd read. She whipped out her wand. " _Lumos Solem_!"

A blindingly bright light shone from the tip of her wand, and the snare sulked. Before we knew it, Ron was dropped right in front of us.

"Phew," he sighed in relief, "Lucky we didn't panic." _Says the boy who was screaming like a little girl up there._

"Lucky Hermione pays attention in Herbology," Harry corrected him.

I nodded. Then I heard what sounded like a cross between a wind chime and a buzzing noise. it was coming from the door in front of us.

"What's that?" Hermione asked, turning her head towards the door.

"I dunno. Sounds like wings," Harry replied.

We made our way over to the door, and tried the knob. It opened easily, leading us into another room. Above us were thousands of flying creatures no bigger than my hand. A broomstick hovered in the center of the room, and I could see another locked door on the other side.

"Strange...I've never seen birds like these," Hermione observed.

"They're not birds. They're keys. And I bet one of them fits that door," Harry corrected. He slowly made his way over to the broomstick. The flying keys took no notice of him, continuing to fly above us. Ron and Hermione went over to the locked door and tried the knob. Nothing happened, even when Ron tried the Alohomora Charm.

Hermione groaned. "Ugh! What are we going to do?" she asked, "There must be a thousand keys up there!"

"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one. Probably rusty, like the handle," Ron said.

I saw one of the keys was having trouble flying. It had bright blue wings, one of which was crumpled slightly. "There! I see it! The one with the broken wing!" I said, pointing.

The others glanced up at the key and saw my prediction was correct. Harry looked disappointed at the broomstick.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's too simple," Harry answered.

"Oh, go on, Harry! If Snape can catch it on that old broomstick, you can! You're the youngest Seeker in a century!" Ron encouraged.

Harry nodded and reached out a hand, grabbing the broomstick. The minute he did, though, the keys swooped down and started attacking him.

"This complicates things a bit," Ron said, wincing.

I watched as Harry flew after the key, the other keys still attacking him. He shot straight up, trying to get away from the other keys, but to no avail. They continued to pursue him as he chased the one with the broken wing.

"Catch the key!" Harry shouted as he swooped down.

I jumped up and grabbed it, tossing it to Hermione. She caught it with two hands and hurried to unlock the door.

"Hurry up!" Ron cried.

"You think she doesn't already know that?" I snapped.

We finally got the door open and Harry zoomed out of the key room. Right after we slammed the door, I heard the remaining keys smash into it.

* * *

We headed further and further down the corridor, coming to another creepy room. There were broken statues everywhere.

"I don't like this," Hermione said, "I don't like this at all."

"Neither do I," I added.

"Where are we?" Harry asked.

"I'm guessing it's a graveyard," I answered.

"This is no graveyard," Ron corrected. "It's a chessboard..."

Torches lit up the room, confirming his words. Like the chess pieces, the floor was black and white.

"There's the door!" Harry exclaimed, pointing straight ahead of us.

We headed for the door, but the white pawns drew their swords, stopping us. Frightened, we stepped back and they put their swords back.

"What'll we do now?" I asked.

Ron gave me an are-you-serious? look. "It's obvious, isn't it?" he answered, "We've got to play our way across the room." He looked at Harry and I. "Okay, Harry, you and Cassia take the empty bishop squares." We nodded. Then he turned to Hermione. "Hermione, you be the queen's side castle. As for me...I'll be a knight."

We all went to our spots.

"What happens now?" Hermione asked.

"Well, white moves first...and then...we play," Ron replied. A white pawn moved two spaces ahead.

"Ron, You don't suppose this is going to be like... _real_ wizard's chess, do you?" Hermione tentatively asked,

"You, there! D-5!" Ron ordered, pointing to one of the pawns.

The pawn moved up to the white piece, only to be slashed across the top and thrown off the board. I cringed.

Ron then looked back at Hermione. "Yes, Hermione. I think this is gonna be exactly like wizard chess," he answered, fear lacing his voice.

The game went on for what seemed like forever. Ron was trying his best to use us as little as possible, so we wouldn't run the risk of serious injury from the white pieces. Debris went flying everywhere whenever a chess piece was taken of the board. I received quite a few scratches due to this.

The white queen turned towards one of our castles at one point, swinging her sword at it and sending it flying across the room. Then the queen turned 90 degrees, now facing sideways.

"Wait a minute," Harry muttered, realizing something.

Ron had a stoic expression on his face. "You understand, right, Harry? Once I make my move, the queen will take me. Then you're free to check the king," he told us.

"No! Ron, no!" Harry shouted.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, looking at us.

"He's going to sacrifice himself," Harry replied.

Hermione gasped and looked over at Ron. "No, you can't! There must be another way!" she protested.

"Hermione's right, you can't do this," I agreed, "Switch places with me! I'll go instead!"

"NO!" Ron, Harry, and Hermione simultaneously snapped at me.

"I just found out you're my sister this year. I'm not about to let you die. You're the only _real_ family I have left," Harry argued.

"Do you all want to stop Snape from getting that stone, or not?" Ron yelled at us. Then he turned to Harry and I and added, "Harry, it's you and Cass that have to go on. I know it. Not me, not Hermione, you two."

Harry and I exchanged knowing looks, before giving Ron a nod. Hermione nodded as well, but I could see the fear in her eyes. She was worried about Ron. And my brother and I felt the same way.

Ron took a deep breath and ordered, "Knight to H-3." His horse slid two spaces forward, and then one space to the left. He glanced at the king. "Check..."

The queen turned in Ron's direction and slid across the board, stopping mere inches from him. For one split second, she remained frozen. Then she drew her sword and drove it into the knight, sending Ron crashing to the floor.

"Ron!" Harry shouted. Hermione and I started to head over to Ron, but Harry stopped us. "No! Don't move!" he shouted, making us freeze in our tracks. "Don't forget, we're still playing." He walked up to the king and said, "Checkmate."

The king's sword fell to the ground, signifying that we won. With the game finally concluded, we all rushed over to where Ron had fallen.

I pressed two fingers to his neck, checking for a pulse. To my relief, he was still alive. "He's okay. Just knocked out. That queen hit him hard," I reported.

"Take care of Ron. Then go to the Owlery. Send a message to Dumbledore," Harry ordered Hermione, "Ron's right..."

"We have to go on," I finished Harry's sentence.

"You'll be okay. You're a great wizard, Harry. And Cassia, you're an amazing witch," Hermione assured us, "You're even better as a team."

"Not as good as you," Harry mumbled.

Hermione scoffed. "Me? Books and cleverness?" she asked, "There are more important things. Friendship...and bravery. And guys, just be careful."

Harry and I nodded and walked to the door on the far end of the chess board. Opening it, we found a flight of stairs leading downward.

* * *

When we got to the bottom of the steps, we saw Quirrell. He was standing right in front of a familiar-looking mirror. I was so overcome with shock, I couldn't move. None of us had ever once suspected _him_.

"You!" Harry exclaimed, making Quirrell turned to face us. "But...but it can't be. Snape...he-"

Quirrell cut him off. "Yes, he does seem the type, doesn't he? But next to him, who would suspect p-p-p-poor, s-s-s-stuttering Professor Quirrell?"

"But that day, during the Quidditch match...Snape tried to kill us," Harry objected.

Quirrell shook his head. "No, dear children. I tried to kill you!" he snapped, "And trust me, if Snape's cloak hadn't caught on fire and broken my eye contact, I would have succeeded, even with Snape muttering his little counter curse."

"Snape was...trying to save us?" I asked, in disbelief.

"I knew you were a danger to me, right from the off. Especially after Halloween," Quirrell continued. It hit me like a ton of bricks- we'd been chasing after the wrong villain!

"Then - then _you_ let the troll in!" I exclaimed.

"Very good, Miss Potter. Yes," Quirrell replied. "Snape, unfortunately, wasn't fooled. When everyone else was running about the dungeon, he went to the third floor to head me off. He, of course, never trusted me again. He barely left me alone. But he doesn't understand...I'm never alone. Never. Now, what does this mirror do? I see what I desire. I see myself holding the stone...but how do I get it?" He had his back to us- he was facing the mirror.

"Use the children," another voice hissed. Now I was _really_ getting scared.

"Come here, Potters! Now!" Quirrell snapped, turning back to us. Harry and I made our way to him. "Now, tell me, what do you see?" he asked. I gazed into the mirror and saw Harry pull something out of his pocket. It looked like a blood-red rock, and I knew immediately it was the stone. "What is it? What do you see?" Quirrell pressed.

"I-I'm shaking hands with Dumbledore. I've won the House Cup," Harry lied. _Smart move, Harry_. He turned to me and gave me a trust-me-I-know-what-to-do look before turning back to the mirror. Quirrell glanced at me and I nodded, confirming what Harry had just said was true.

"He lies...he told her to agree with him," the mystery voice hissed again.

"Tell the truth! What do you see?" Quirrell yelled at us.

"Let _me_ speak to them," the mystery voice ordered.

"Master, you are not strong enough," Quirrell refused.

"I have strength enough for this," the mystery voice assured him.

Obeying his so-called master's orders, Quirrell turned to face us and unraveled his turban. When it was completely unwrapped, he pulled it off, revealing a gruesome face on the back of his head. My heart was racing, and my scar started burning.

"Harry and Cassia Potter...we meet again," the face hissed, grinning wickedly at us.

"Voldemort..." Harry and I muttered, our eyes wide as saucers.

"Yes...you see what I've become? See what I must do to survive? Live off another, a mere parasite. Unicorn blood can sustain me, but it cannot give me a body of my own. But there is something that can. Something that, conveniently enough, lies in your pocket," Voldemort said.

Harry and I made a run for it. I heard Quirrell snap his fingers behind me, and a wall of fire suddenly appeared in front of us. We were trapped.

"Don't be fools," Voldemort admonished us, "Why suffer horrific death, when you can join me and live?"

"Never!" Harry and I shouted.

Voldemort cackled. "Bravery," he muttered, "Your parents had it too. Tell me, Harry, would you and Cassia like to see your mother and father again? Together, we can bring them back. All I ask is for something in return."

Mum and Dad's faces appeared in the mirror. My heart raced as Harry - in a trancelike state - slowly took out the stone. All he did was just hold it in his hand, staring at it. We'd be at the mercy of the Dark Lord if he gave it to him. I'd only just met my brother this year, and I wasn't planning to lose him anytime soon.

"That's it, Harry. There is no good and evil. There is only power...and those too weak to seek it. Together, we'll do extraordinary things. Just give me the stone," Voldemort hissed.

"No...don't do it, Harry! Don't do it!" I pleaded.

Harry snapped out of his trance and looked at me, and then at the mirror. The image of our parents vanished. "You liar!" he shouted to Voldemort.

"Kill them!" Voldemort commanded.

Quirrell flew towards Harry, an arm outstretched. But I wasn't going to let him hurt my brother. I pushed Harry out of the way. He fell to the ground, the stone falling out of his pocket as Quirrell grasped my throat, choking the life out of me.

 **Harry's POV**

Quirrell flew right at me, his arm stretched out to choke me to death. But before he could reach me, something - or, more appropriately, some _one_ \- pushed me away from him, knocking me to the ground. I looked beside me and saw my sister on the ground, Quirrell's hand clasped around her neck. Cass had just saved my life, and now she was about to lose hers. _Not if I can help it_. I grabbed Quirrell's hand and tried to pry it from my sister's throat. The minute I touched Quirrell, he screamed in pain and retracted his hand. The second he did, Cassia's head lolled to one side. Her eyes were closed, but to my relief, her chest rose and fell, signifying that she was okay.

"What is this magic?" Quirrell asked, holding his now-disintegrating hand.

"Fool, get the stone!" Voldemort ordered.

Quirrell made a break for the stone, but I put my hands on his face, stopping him from going any further. His face started to crackle, and he put his other hand to it. Then he tried reaching for me again, but disintegrated. Just like that, I had defeated two enemies in one night.

I walked over and picked up the stone, gazing at it in my hand. My victory moment was short-lived, however, because Voldemort's spirit went right through me. I screamed at the intense pain and lost consciousness, falling to the ground beside Cassia, with the stone still clutched in my hand.


	15. Going Home (End of 1st Year)

**Cassia's POV**

When I woke up, I saw that I was in the Hospital Wing, surrounded by sweets and get-well cards, from our teachers and multiple students. Harry lay asleep in the bed beside me. Just like my bed, his was also laden with candy. There was even a Honeydukes gift basket from the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. But what really caught my eye was the get-well card and bag of sugar quills from Cedric. I picked up the card and read it:

 _Dear Cassia,_

 _I heard about what happened with you, Harry, and Quirrell. I can't believe he tried to kill you, AND that Voldemort was under his turban! Least now I know Fred and George's rumor about it being full of garlic was a lie._

 _I'm so relieved you and Harry and your friends are alright. When Madam Pomfrey discharges you from the Hospital Wing, come find me. I'd love to hear all about how first year went for you._

 _-Cedric_  
 _P.S. Hope you like the candy :)_

I looked over at Harry and saw he was just waking up. "Here," I said, handing him his glasses.

He put them on and looked at me. Then he saw the card. "Who's that from?" he asked.

"Cedric. A guy I met the day classes first started. I got lost on the way to Potions and I literally crashed into him. After I told him I was lost, he took me to Snape's classroom. That's why I had that giant grin on my face," I explained. He nodded. "Harry, what happened between you and Quirrell...after I blacked out?" I asked.

"Well, I tried to pry Quirrell off you when he started choking you, but he screamed in pain the second I touched him, and then he let go of you and you passed out. Somehow, my touch caused Quirrell's hand to disintegrate. When he tried to make another grab for the Stone, I put my hands on his face, and he turned to dust. Then Vol...I mean, You-Know-Who's spirit passed through me, and I blacked out right next to you," Harry told me.

"Good afternoon, Harry. You, too, Cassia," Dumbledore said, making the two of us snap our heads in his direction. He'd just come into the Hospital Wing. Harry and I watched him as he made his way over to us, smiling when he saw all the candy we'd gotten. "Ah, tokens from your admirers," he remarked.

"How did they know-" I started to ask.

"What happened down in the dungeon between the both of you and Professor Quirrell is no complete secret. So, naturally, the whole school knows," Dumbledore explained. He noticed a Chocolate Frogs package. "Ah, I see your friend Ron has saved you the trouble of opening your Chocolate Frogs," he noted.

"Ron was here?" Harry asked, "Is he alright?"

"What about Hermione?" I added.

Dumbledore put a hand up to stop us. "Fine. They're both just fine." Dumbledore always seemed to have a calm and understanding demeanor, even given the fact that we were nearly killed by Quirrell and Voldemort.

"But what happened to the stone?" Harry asked, panic rising in his voice.

"Relax, dear boy. The stone has been destroyed. My friend Nicholas and I have had a little chat, and agreed it was best," Dumbledore replied.

"But then, Flamel...he'll die, won't he?" I questioned.

Dumbledore sat down on Harry's bed and I jumped up next to my brother. "He has enough elixir to set his affairs in order, but yes, he will die," he said.

"How is it I got the stone, Professor? One minute, I was staring in the mirror and-" Harry started.

"Ah, you see, only a person who wanted to find the stone - find it, but not use it - would be able to get it," Dumbledore explained, cutting him off.

"D-Does that mean, with the stone gone, that is, that Voldemort can never come back?" I asked.

"Ah, I'm afraid...there are ways in which he can return," Dumbledore said, sighing. "Harry, Cassia, do you know why Professor Quirrell couldn't bear to have either of you touch him?" he asked us. We shook our heads. "It was because of your mother. She sacrificed herself for you. And that kind of act leaves a mark," Dumbledore replied. Harry and I reached up to our foreheads, but Dumbledore stopped us. "No, no, no...this kind of mark cannot be seen. It lives...in your very skin," he said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Love, Cassia. Love," Dumbledore replied. He turned his gaze from us to one of the boxes of Every Flavor Beans. "Ah, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. I was most unfortunate in my youth to come across a vomit-flavored one. It is since then that I have rather lost my liking for them. But I think...it could be safe...with a nice toffee," he mused. He popped one in his mouth and I could see in his eyes that it wasn't toffee. "Hmm...alas. Earwax," he muttered.

I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "Eugh..."

Dumbledore must've noticed I was holding the card Cedric had sent me, because he said, "Mr. Diggory seems to care deeply about you. He came to the Hospital Wing many times, asking Madam Pomfrey if he could see you."

"He did?" I asked.

"Indeed," Dumbledore replied, "But Madam Pomfrey declined, seeing as you and Harry needed time to recover. So Cedric made that card and requested her to give it to you."

I smiled. "He's a nice boy..."

"He is," Dumbledore agreed.

Madam Pomfrey let us out of the hospital wing about ten minutes after Dumbledore left. When we saw Ron and Hermione waiting for us at the top of a staircase, Harry and I couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces.

"Alright, Ron?" Harry asked.

"Alright. You?" Ron returned the question.

"We're alright. Hermione?" I asked, looking up at my best friend.

"Never better," Hermione replied. She and Ron came downstairs and we all hugged before linking arms and heading into the Great Hall for the Farewell Feast. Green and silver tapestries hung from the ceiling, much to my dismay. I have only two words for that: not good.

"Cassia!" someone called my name. It was Cedric. He ran up to me and gave me a massive hug.

"Hi, Cedric," I greeted, hugging him back. "Thanks for the get-well card by the way. And the candy. And the Christmas present you gave me - I never thanked you properly for that one. Sorry."

Cedric shook his head. "Don't mention it. You're a good friend. Funny, sarcastic, friendly, and of course, caring," he said, "So tell me, how'd first year go? Congratulations on winning the match against Slytherin, by the way."

I grinned. "Thanks. And first year was good, for the most part, but it was a little crazy..."

"How so?" Cedric asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, to start, there was the troll incident on Halloween. Ron made fun of Hermione earlier that day, so she locked herself in the girls' bathroom and I went in to comfort her. Then the troll came in and tried to kill us. But then Harry and Ron saved us- Ron knocked it out with its own club," I explained. Cedric nodded, urging me to continue. "And then there was the Quidditch match against Slytherin- mine and Harry's brooms started going berserk. They tried to buck us off. Hermione thought it was Snape jinxing them, so she lit part of his cloak on fire to help us out."

"But it wasn't Snape," Cedric guessed.

I playfully rolled my eyes at him. "I'm getting to that. We were convinced it was Snape behind the broomsticks _and_ letting the troll into the school so he could get past the three-headed dog guarding the third-floor, but Hagrid didn't believe us. He said that what the dog was guarding was private business between Dumbledore and a man by the name of Nicholas Flamel."

"Who's Nicholas Flamel?" Cedric asked.

"A friend of Dumbledore's. They used to work together," I answered, "He made what's called the Sorcerer's Stone. The Stone can turn metal into gold and produce what's called the Elixir of Life, which makes anyone who drinks it immortal. The four of us put two and two together and figured out the three-headed dog is guarding the Sorcerer's Stone, and we thought Snape was going to try and steal it, so we went to tell Hagrid, but - again - he didn't believe us. And as it turns out, he was breeding a baby dragon."

Cedric was absolutely floored. "You're joking!" he exclaimed.

I shushed him. "Cedric, keep your voice down! Do you want the whole school to know about Hagrid breeding a dragon? Which, in case you didn't know, is illegal?" I whisper-snapped.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"It's fine," I assured him, "But Malfoy was spying on us, so we tried to beat him back to the castle before he could tell, but he beat us to the punch. McGonagall deducted 50 points for each of us, and gave us detention. With Malfoy. We had to serve it with Hagrid, in the Dark Forest. Our job was to find a unicorn that'd recently been killed, so Hagrid split us into groups. Harry and I got stuck with Malfoy. While we were walking, the three of us stumbled upon a cloaked creature feeding on the dead unicorn, and mine and Harry's scars started burning like crazy. The creature then came over to us and would've killed us right then and there if a centaur hadn't jumped in and scared it off. We knew right away that it was...You-Know-Who. After exams were over, we went to talk to Hagrid about the stranger who'd given him the dragon. Based on what Hagrid had told us, we knew it had to be Snape, so we went to McGonagall's office and told her we had to see Dumbledore and warn him about the Stone. But she said Dumbledore was gone; he was in London, discussing something important with the Minister of Magic. So we decided to go up to the third floor ourselves to stop Snape. The third floor was _full_ of booby traps. We had to go through Devil's Snare, flying keys, and a life-size game of Wizard Chess. Ron was knocked unconscious during the chess game, so Harry and I had Hermione take him to the Hospital Wing and send an owl to Dumbledore, informing him of the emergency. Then Harry and I went on to face Snape. But it turns out, Snape was innocent."

"Who was it, then?" Cedric asked.

"Professor Quirrell," I answered, making him gasp in shock. "I know, right? Quirrell's the last person we ever suspected! But he was the one who let the troll in on Halloween _and_ tried to kill Harry and I by jinxing our broomsticks. Snape had been muttering a spell to _help_ us. Quirrell tried to use us to get the Sorcerer's Stone, but it appeared in Harry's pocket. Both of us lied to prevent Quirrell from finding out Harry had it, and then his...master...said to let him speak to both of us. So Quirrell removed his turban, revealing the ugliest thing I'd ever seen in my life- You-Know-Who was attached to the back of Quirrell's head!"

Cedric looked disgusted. "Eugh..." he said.

I nodded and went on. "He offered Harry and I a chance to join him, claiming that we could bring our parents back from the dead, in return for us giving him the Stone. But we refused. If we'd given it to him, he'd come back, stronger than before, and my brother and I would've died that night. So You-Know-Who ordered Quirrell to kill Harry, because he had the Stone, but I pushed him out of the way. Quirrell started choking me to death, but when Harry tried to pry him off me, Quirrell screamed in pain and let go of my neck. That's the last thing I remember- I blacked out afterward. Then I woke up in the Hospital Wing this morning. Harry told me that, after I'd passed out, he'd been able to stop Quirrell. But then You-Know-Who's spirit flew right through him and he passed out, too."

Cedric hugged me. "Thank Merlin you're alright, Cassia," he said, "I don't know what I would've done if I lost you."

"You'd be lost without me," I joked, referring to when I'd gotten lost the day we first met.

I watched as Cedric fished around in his bookbag. He pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil, and quickly scribbled something down. "Here," he said, handing it to me. It was his address:

 _Cedric Diggory  
119 Franklin Street  
Manchester_

"We're going home tomorrow, so I figured we could exchange addresses so we could write to each other over the summer," he explained.

"That's a great idea, Cedric!" I said, hugging him. He chuckled and hugged me back. We were interrupted by McGonagall tapping her goblet loudly with a spoon, turning our attention to the staff table. Cedric and I quickly pulled out of the hug and sat down at our House tables.

Dumbledore stood up. "Another year gone," he started, "And now, as I understand it, the House Cup needs awarding, and the points stand thus. In fourth place...Gryffindor, with 312 points."  
My heart sank as everyone else clapped.  
"In third place...Hufflepuff, with 352 points," Dumbledore continued.  
We clapped for Hufflepuff. "In second place...Ravenclaw, with 426 points," Dumbledore went on.  
We all clapped for Ravenclaw.

"I don't like where this is going," I whispered to Harry. He nodded in agreement.

"And in first place, with 472 points, Slytherin House," Dumbledore finished.

The Slytherin table erupted in cheers. Snape was also clapping. Makes sense, since he is the head of Slytherin House. I didn't even bother clapping. Neither did anyone else at our table. The clapping and cheering died down moments later. I think that snob Malfoy was the most excited, since he now had license to rub it in our faces for the rest of the day, if not the next year.

"Yes, well done, Slytherin. Well done, Slytherin, _however_...recent events must be taken into account, and I have a few last minute points to award," Dumbledore announced, "First, to Miss Hermione Granger. For the cool use of intellect while others were in grave peril...50 points."  
We all clapped for Hermione and I smiled at her. Now we had 10 points more than Hufflepuff did.  
"Second, to Mr. Ronald Weasley...for the best played game of chess that Hogwarts has seen these many years, 50 points," Dumbledore continued. We all clapped for Ron, and I was even happier, since we were catching up to Ravenclaw now.  
"Third, to Mr. Harry Potter...for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor House 60 points," Dumbledore added. Everyone - and I mean _everyone_ \- cheered for Harry...well, except for the Slytherins. Oh, well. That's _their_ problem.

"We're tied with Slytherin!" Hermione whispered to me and Harry.

"Fourth, to Miss Cassia Potter..." At this, I gasped. All eyes darted towards me. "For her willingness to give up her life to protect those she loves...another 60 points," Dumbledore added. Harry gave me a massive hug, and everyone cheered for me.  
"And finally, it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies...but a great deal more to stand up to your friends. I award 10 points...to Neville Longbottom," Dumbledore concluded. This time, all eyes turned to Neville and we clapped for him.  
"Assuming that my calculations are correct, I believe that a change of decoration is in order," Dumbledore finished. He clapped his hands and the tapestries turned from green and silver to red and gold in the blink of an eye. "Gryffindor wins the House Cup!"

We all cheered at this news and threw our hats to the ceiling. Everyone was hugging Harry and I and patting us on the back. This was one of the best moments of my life.

Sadly, we had to leave Hogwarts the next day. Ron, Hermione, and I found an empty compartment and waited for Harry- he'd stopped to say goodbye to Hagrid first. He came back nearly 2 minutes before the train was due to leave, with a brown book under his arm.

"What's that?" I asked as he plopped down next to me.

"It's a photo album. Look, it has pictures of Mum and Dad in there," Harry said, excited, as he opened the book. I looked at the photos and saw he was right. The first ten photos were of Mum and Dad. One of them was of them holding Harry and I as babies. When I flipped through the pages, I saw another photo, but it was one of Harry, Ron, Hermione and I laughing and smiling together.

"How did Hagrid get _this_ one in there?" I asked.

"It's an enchanted photo album. The picture appeared all by itself this year," Harry replied, "Hagrid explained it."

I leaned my head on his shoulder. "I wish I could've met them..." I said.

"Me too, sis," Harry agreed, "They'd be very proud of us."

We continued to look at the photos in the album in silence. I knew in my heart that Harry was right. Our parents _would_ be proud of us. We'd found each other again and we'd done some incredible things this year. Wonder what second year will bring...

 **End of Year 1**


	16. Year 2: Jailbreak

**Cassia's POV**

I've changed quite a bit since school started last year. For one thing, I got a smidge taller. Plus I grew out my bangs. And the rest of my hair. My summer's just been...okay. Didn't do too much. But I have a problem- I've written to Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Cedric, but I didn't get a single reply from any of them for the ENTIRE summer! Not even a card for mine and Harry's 12th birthday!

That's why, tonight, I was absentmindedly poking at my slice of birthday cake with my fork.

"Cass, are you alright?" Dora asked, interrupting my thoughts.

I looked up at her. "Yeah...just thinking," I replied.

"About what?" Mum/Andromeda asked.

"I've owled my friends and my brother, but they never replied for the entire summer," I admitted.

Dad/Ted put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't fret, Cassia. I'm sure it'll all blow over soon," he assured me, planting a kiss on my cheek. Dora and Mum/Andromeda each gave me a hug as well.

"You're right," I agreed.

After dinner, I grabbed my bathrobe and a couple of towels and took a shower. It helped me forget about not receiving any mail from Harry or my friends. I turned off the water once I was finished, and pulled my bathrobe on. As for my hair, I just towel-dried it and pulled it into a messy bun. I went into my bedroom to change into my pj's, but I stopped right in the doorway when I saw a strange sitting on my bed, reading one of my books. "What the-?" I asked, making the creature jump and the book go flying out of his arms.

The creature looked a little bit like the goblins I've seen at Gringotts, except he was taller and skinnier and he wore what looked like an old, worn-out pillowcase. He looked up at me, its tennis ball-sized eyes meeting my green ones. "Cassia Potter! Such an honor it is to meet Harry Potter's twin," he said, bowing.

I couldn't help but crack a smile at his actions. But then I turned serious again. "Who are you? And _what_ are you?" I asked.

"Dobby, Miss. Dobby the house elf," the creature answered.

I closed the door behind me so my adoptive family wouldn't hear, and I faced Dobby again. "Well, what's a house elf doing here?" I asked, folding my arms.

"Well, Miss, Dobby is forbidden to leave his master's house, Miss," Dobby told me, "But Dobby had to come to warn Harry and Cassia Potter."

"Warn us about what?" I asked, coming over to the bed and kneeling in front of him.

"Harry and Cassia Potter must not return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year," Dobby said.

"What?!" I exclaimed, "Why?"

Dobby had a look of pure terror on his face as he answered, "There is a plot, a plot to make the most terrible things happen! I warned Harry Potter, but he refused to say he would not return to school."

"Wait, what kind of things? Who's behind it?" I asked, taking Dobby's hands in my own.

Dobby immediately started to freak out. "Dobby - cannot - say," he managed to tell me in the midst of his hyperventilating.

I put both my hands on his shoulders. "Dobby. Dobby, calm down. It's okay. I understand if you can't tell me. You don't have to," I told him.

I put both my hands on his shoulders. "Dobby. Dobby, calm down. It's okay. I understand if you can't tell me. You don't have to," I told him.

Dobby took several deep breaths and started to calm down. Then he burst into tears. Immediately, I thought I'd hurt him or something, but the smile on his face told me he was fine. "Thank you, Cassia Potter," he said, "You are so much nicer than Dobby's master."

"Master?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, Miss," Dobby said, giving a slight nod." Every house elf is bound to serve one family for the rest of their life," he explained.

"Oh, Dobby, that must be terrible," I commented, immediately feeling sympathy for the poor house elf.

Dobby nodded again. "Oh, if only you knew what it was like..." He shuddered. "I shouldn't have said that. Master will beat me if he finds I left his house," he added, growing very nervous.

"I'm sorry. If I could help you, I would," I apologized.

"You can, Cassia Potter, by promising Dobby that you won't go back to Hogwarts," Dobby said.

How was I supposed to answer a request like this? I couldn't not go back! It's the only place I can see my brother and my friends! _Wait a minute, I know! I'll tell him maybe!_ "I...I'll think it over," I said.

* * *

A few nights later, I was reading a book before bed, with Cricket on my lap. But a loud noise coming from outside interrupted me. _What was that?_ I wondered. I heard it again, but it was much louder. It sounded a bit like a car engine. And it was coming from right outside my window. Deciding to investigate, I put my book down and crossed over to the window. Sure enough, there _was_ a car right outside my window. And who should be driving it but Ron, Fred, and George!

I blinked. "What the-? Guys, what are you doing here?" I asked, unable to believe it.

"We haven't heard from Harry all summer, so we're gonna go visit him," Ron replied.

"I haven't heard from him _or_ you guys either," I said, "So you're gonna go see my brother in a flying car?"

Fred - who was behind the wheel - nodded. "Yeah, it's Dad's Ford Anglia," he replied.

"Come on. Get your things and get in," George said.

"Wait, what?!" I exclaimed.

"Come with us," Ron encouraged me.

I put a hand up to stop him. "Wait a minute. You _do_ realize your parents are gonna have a fit when they find out you took the car," I pointed out.

"Who cares?" Fred asked, "Besides, rules-"

"-are made to be broken," George finished his sentence.

I playfully rolled my eyes at them and started to get my stuff together. While I packed my clothes, Fred turned the car around and unlocked it. Quickly, I put my trunk in the back of the car and scribbled a note for my guardians so they wouldn't freak out once they saw I was gone the next morning. Then I grabbed Misty's cage and put that on the seat behind George. And finally, I took Cricket into my arms and climbed into the back seat of the car, right next to Ron.

"You good back there, Cass?" Fred asked. I nodded.

"Good. Now let's go get your brother," George said. With that, we drove off into the night.

We reached Privet Drive a few hours later. I was surprised to see Harry's room had jail bars on the window. _Geez, I knew Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon hated us, but this is crossing the line._ When Fred pulled the car up as close as he could to the window, I could see Harry standing there looking completely floored.

"Hiya, Harry," Ron said.

"What the heck are they doing to you?" I asked, glancing at the locked door with a cat door at the bottom, and a bowl of soggy vegetables lying by it.

Harry did a double take. "Ron, Fred, George, Cassia, what are you all doing here?" he asked, leaving my question unanswered.

"Rescuing you, of course," Ron replied, "Now come on! Get your trunk!"

While Harry got his trunk packed, Ron pulled out a rope with a hook attached to it - which was attached to the car - and hooked the jail bars. "Better stand back," he warned Harry. Harry stood back. "Let's go," Ron said. Fred drove forward, yanking off the bars _and_ the window. They both crashed to the ground below. Hoping that didn't wake our aunt and uncle was pretty much wishful thinking, because 5 seconds later, we heard Uncle Vernon yelling, "POTTER!" _Uh oh. I think we're in trouble..._

I climbed out of the car and jumped through Harry's window to help him get the rest of his stuff together. As we packed up his books, I could hear Uncle Vernon fumbling with a set of keys to open the three locks keeping Harry imprisoned in the bedroom. Before long, I heard the first lock click open. If we were going to get Harry out, we had to move fast. And I mean _really_ fast! Harry and I got his trunk in the back of the car and slammed the door quickly, right when I heard the second lock click open.

"We've gotta hurry," I told Harry. He nodded and picked up Hedwig's cage. I handed it off to Ron and George, who put it into the back seat.

"C'mon, guys! Hurry up!" Ron said.

I leapt out the window and into the backseat, right in between Hedwig and Misty - who looked _so_ happy to see Hedwig again - and George. Harry started for the window, just as Uncle Vernon opened the door.

opened the door.

"PETUNIA, HE'S ESCAPING!" Uncle Vernon yelled. He made a dive for Harry and managed to grab him by the ankle.

Ron wrapped his arms around Harry, while I held his hands tightly. "We've got ya, Harry," Ron assured Harry.

"C'mere!" Uncle Vernon barked, tugging on Harry's ankle. It was basically a tug-of-war for Harry between us and him, but thanks to the death grip I had on Harry's hands, Uncle Vernon wasn't getting very far with pulling him back into the house.

"Let go of me!" Harry snapped.

"Get your hands off my brother!" I shouted.

"Oh no, girl! You two and that bloody pigeon aren't going anywhere!" Uncle Vernon fired back, pulling Harry's ankle harder.

"Get off!" Harry yelled.

Ron looked over at Fred. "Drive!" he ordered. Fred slammed his foot on the gas and we started to drive away. Uncle Vernon lost his grip on Harry's ankle and tumbled into the bushes 10 feet below. Harry slammed the door as the car flew higher and higher into the air, with Fred now driving in the direction of the Burrow.

"By the way, guys, happy birthday," Ron said, turning towards Harry - who now sat next to him in the front passenger seat - and then to me. I reached forward and hugged Harry tightly. Since I was sitting right behind him, it was an easy reach. Harry hugged me back, but he held on tighter. Neither of us had any intention of letting go first.


	17. Breakfast at the Weasley's

**Cassia's POV**

I woke up to someone shaking my shoulder gently. When I opened my eyes, I saw it was Fred. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw George doing the same thing to Harry.

"Cass...come on, get up. We're here," Fred told me.

I climbed out of the car and saw a large house - that looked a bit like a tower, given it was a narrower structure than a normal house - that looked like it was at least 5 or 6 stories high. "Did Harry and I sleep through the whole ride here?" I asked.

"Pretty much," George replied, "You guys got lucky. Me and Ron couldn't even get a wink in."

Harry got out of the car and came to stand next to me. He had the same look of shock on his face as I did. "Whoa..." he muttered.

"I know, right?" I said, nudging him.

Fred opened the back door. Well, actually, it was more like a wooden gate underneath the window. He looked back at us. "Okay, c'mon. Shh, shh...okay, c'mon," he whispered, making a beckoning motion with one hand. We all followed him into the kitchen. To our luck, it was completely empty.

When I looked at the sink, I could see a scrubbing brush magically cleaning a frying pan. _Wow_ , I thought to myself. Harry came over and stood beside me with amazement written all over his face.

"D'you think it'd be alright if we had some of this?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, Mum will never know," Fred replied. He, George, and Ron each took a biscuit from a bowl at the kitchen table and started munching.

Harry left my side and crossed over to what looked like an old-fashioned clock on the wall. When I looked closely, I could see that each hand looked like it was made up of three spoons, with the Weasley children's faces on them. And instead of hours, the clock had locations on it; _School_ , _Home_ , _Dentist_ , and _Prison_ (I shuddered at that last one). On the armchair next to it, I saw that a scarf was magically knitting itself.

"It's not much-" Ron said with his mouth full, "-but it's home."

"I think it's brilliant," Harry complimented. I nodded in agreement. This place had such a homey feel to it. The kind that makes you all warm and cozy inside.

Mrs. Weasley suddenly stormed into the room. "Where have you been?" she snapped at Ron and the twins. They quickly hid the biscuits they'd been eating behind their backs. When Mrs. Weasley looked over at Harry and I, her face seemed to soften, and a smile formed on her face. "Harry, Cassia!" she exclaimed, coming over to us. "How wonderful to see you, dears!" She hugged my brother, and then did the same to me, before looking back at the three redheads standing beside us. The angry look returned to her face. "Beds empty? No note? Car gone? You could've died! You could've been seen!" she snapped again. She looked back at harry and I and added, "Of course I don't blame you two dears."

"They were starving Harry, Mum. He had bars on his window," Ron defended us.

"Well, you'd best hope I don't put bars on _your_ window, Ronald Weasley," Mrs. Weasley warned him. She looked back at Harry and I once again and said, "Come now, you two. Time for a spot of breakfast."

We all sat down at the table as Mrs. Weasley dished out a big breakfast of eggs, bacon, and sausage for each of us. About 30 seconds afterward, I heard someone hurrying down the stairs, towards us. It was a little redheaded girl wearing pajamas and a bathrobe. I recognized her- she was Ron's sister. I'd seen her before Harry and I went through the barrier to get to the train. "Mummy, have you seen my jumper?" she asked.

"Yes, dear. It was on the cat," Mrs. Weasley replied.

Once the girl caught sight of Harry and I, her eyes grew as wide as saucers.

"Hello," Harry said, trying to be polite. I waved as well.

The girl backed up - still with widened eyes - and ran back upstairs. Harry and I looked at Ron, confused as to what'd just happened.

"What'd we do?" Harry asked.

"Did we hurt her feelings?" I added.

Ron shook his head. "You did nothing. It's Ginny- she's been talking about you guys all summer. Bit annoying, really," he told us.

"Morning, Weasleys," a man called out as he came in through the back door.

"Morning, Dad," the Weasley boys answered at the same time as Mrs. Weasley said, "Morning, Arthur." The man wore a cloak over his clothes, and a pointed hat sat atop his head. When he took it off, revealing his receding ginger hair, I knew immediately that this was _Mr._ Weasley. "What a night- nine raids! Nine!" he said, putting away the books and papers he'd been carrying.

"Raids?" Harry and I repeated, confused.

"Dad works at the Ministry of Magic, in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office. Dad loves Muggles. Thinks they're fascinating," Ron explained to me and Harry.

Mr. Weasley sat down at the head of the table. That's when he looked over and saw Harry and I sitting right by him. "And who are you two?" he asked.

For a moment, Harry had a blank look on his face. But he shook it off quickly after I nudged his leg under the table. "Oh. Sorry, sir. I'm Harry, sir. Harry Potter," he introduced himself.

"And I'm Cassia Potter," I added, "His sister." I pointed at Harry as I said it.

"Good lord, are you really?" Mr. Weasley asked, "Well, Ron's told us all about you, of course. When did they get here?"

"This morning," Mrs. Weasley answered, turning to face him. "Your sons took Harry's sister and flew that enchanted car of yours to Surrey and back last night."

"Did you really? How'd it go?" Mr. Weasley asked, clearly intrigued. A smack on the arm from his wife shut him up. "I mean...that was very wrong indeed, boys. Very wrong of you," he scolded his sons. When Mrs. Weasley wasn't looking, he winked at them. "Now, Harry, you must know all about Muggles," he said, making eye contact with Harry and I again. "Tell me, what exactly is the function of a rubber duck?"

"Oh, uh..." Harry started to answer, before the sound of an owl screeching in the distance cut him off. We all looked to the window to see an owl flying towards us.

"Oh, that'll be Errol with the post," Mrs. Weasley commented.

Since Errol didn't stop once he reached the window, he crashed into the glass - luckily, he didn't break it - and fell to the ground, making me cringe. That _had_ to hurt.

"Fetch it, will you, Percy?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

Percy went to the window and opened it. Errol flew inside, holding a bunch of letters in his beam.

"Errol?" Harry asked.

"He's _always_ doing that," said Ron.

"Oh, look, it's our Hogwarts letters," Percy reported, after opening the envelopes.

"Oh," Mrs. Weasley said.

"And they've sent us Harry's and Cassia's as well," Percy added.

"Dumbledore must know the two of you are here," Mr. Weasley commented, looking at Harry and I again. "Doesn't miss a trick, that man."

"No, he doesn't," I agreed, cracking a smile.

"This lot won't come cheap, Mum. The spell books alone are very expensive," Fred informed Mrs. Weasley as we read the supply lists for this year. Pretty much the only things that we needed were a new set of books; obviously the _Standard Book of Spells (Grade 2)_ , but the rest of our books that we needed were all written by a guy called Gilderoy Lockhart.

"We'll manage," Mrs. Weasley assured us, looking up from what I guessed was either Ron's list or Ginny's list for her first year. "There's only one place we're going to get all of this. Diagon Alley."

* * *

We all gathered around the fireplace, wearing cloaks over our clothes. Percy, Fred, George, Ron, Harry, and I all had the Gryffindor emblem on ours. Ginny's was purple, while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had dark green and brown.

Mrs. Weasley picked up what looked like a flowerpot, which had this weird grey powder inside it. "Alright, Harry, you and Cassia go first, dears," she said, beckoning us to come forward. Neither of us moved.

"But Harry and Cass have never traveled by Floo powder before, Mum," Ron objected.

Harry and I looked at him in confusion. "Floo powder?" we both asked.

"Oh. Well, you go first, Ron, so they can see how it's done," Mrs. Weasley said. She beckoned him over. "In you go, dear."

Ron went into the fireplace, ducking his head along the way. He took a handful of the powder and shouted, "Diagon Alley!" He threw the powder down as green flames engulfed him. Mr. Weasley held a hand in front of Ginny to cover her eyes - the flames were blinding!

"You see? It's quite easy, dears. Don't be afraid. Come on," Mrs. Weasley encouraged us.

"I can go first, if you want," I offered, looking at Harry.

Harry put up a hand to stop me. "No, no. It's fine. I'll go first," he said.

"Alright," I conceded, "But _please_ be careful."

"I will," Harry assured me, giving my hand a squeeze. He walked up to the fireplace.

"In you go," Mrs. Weasley instructed. He did, making sure to duck so he wouldn't hit his head. He tentatively reached out and took a handful of Floo powder. "That's it. Very good," Mrs. Weasley told him, "Now, don't forget to speak very, _very_ clearly."

"Diagonally," Harry stuttered, dropping the powder at his feet. The bright green flames popped up and seemed to swallow him as he disappeared.

Mrs. Weasley looked back at her husband. "What did he say, dear?" she asked.

"Diagonally," he replied.

"I thought he did," she muttered. _Oh, boy. That can't be good._


	18. Lockhart & LuciusUGH!

**Cassia's POV**

As much as I wanted to go after Harry to try and find him, Mrs. Weasley wouldn't let me. She said there was a good chance that he could've ended up in Knockturn Alley, and it was too risky for the rest of us to go down there because it was "just crawling" with thieves and dark wizards.

We went to Gringotts first, so Mr. and Mrs. Weasley could get some money out of their vault for Ron and his siblings. Then they made a stop at mine and Harry's vault so I could take out some money. Since Harry wasn't with me, I had to get money for both of us. Once that was done, Mrs. Weasley and I took Ginny to get her wand at Ollivander's and so she could be fitted for her school robes. We met up with Mr. Weasley and the boys inside Flourish & Blotts afterward, and it was absolutely _packed_! According to the big sign near the door, Gilderoy Lockhart was doing a book signing today.

Mrs. Weasley had us all get in the line that started right at the front desk. Okay, it wasn't really a line. It was more like a big clump of people. Just like in Gringotts, I held Ginny's hand so she wouldn't somehow get lost within the crowd.

"Oh, Harry! Thank goodness! We'd hoped you'd only gone one grate too far!" Mrs. Weasley suddenly exclaimed from behind me. I turned around to see Hermione had just come into the shop, more or less dragging Harry with her. Mrs. Weasley started brushing the soot off his face and clothes as best as she could.

"Harry!" I exclaimed, letting go of Ginny for a moment to hug my brother. "Are you okay?" I asked him.

"I'm fine, sis. Said the wrong thing and wound up in Knockturn Alley," he replied.

I let go of him and hugged Hermione. "Mione, how've you been? I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Cassi!" she exclaimed, hugging me back. "How has your summer been?"

Before I could answer, someone interrupted us. "Ladies and gentlemen, Gilderoy Lockhart!" he announced from the very front of the line.

Mrs. Weasley gasped. "There he is," she muttered to herself.

Everyone except me and Harry started clapping as a blonde man dressed in pale blue came to stand behind the desk. _Guess this is Lockhart._

"Mum fancies him," Ron whispered, earning a smack on the arm from his mother.

"Pardon me, sir. Let me by, madam," a photographer said as he made his way through the crowd. His cloak brushed against Ginny's as he passed us. "Excuse me, little girl. This is for the _Daily Prophet_..." He situated himself almost a foot from Lockhart and snapped a photo of him.

Lockhart was about to pose again for another photo when he caught sight of my brother and I. "It can't be...Harry and Cassia Potter," he muttered.

The photographer gasped. "Harry and Cassia Potter!" he exclaimed, seizing Harry by the arm. "'Scuse me, madam." He pushed Harry behind the front desk, and then did the same thing with me.

Lockhart put an arm around each of us, holding us a little tight for my liking. "Nice big smile, you two. Together, we'll rate the front page," he said.

The short photographer snapped a photo, temporarily blinding me with the camera flash.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what an extraordinary moment this is. When young Harry and Cassia stepped into Flourish and Blotts this morning to purchase my autobiography 'Magical Me'..." Lockhart boasted - earning applause from everyone except Ron - "...which, incidently, is currently celebrating its 27th week atop the Daily Prophet best-seller list, they had no idea that they would, in fact, be leaving with my entire collective works...free of charge." He handed Harry and I each a stack of his books, before flashing another smile to the camera as another picture of him was taken. Then he let us go and sat down at the desk, getting a quill ready. "Ladies..."

Harry and I rushed back to Mrs. Weasley.

"Harry, now you both give me those. I'll get them signed," she said, making me mentally groan. "All of you wait outside," she told us.

Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and I all held hands as we made our way to the door. Percy and the twins followed behind us. But right before we could leave the shop, we ran into the last person I wanted to see right now. Malfoy. He glanced up at us briefly, before ripping a page out from the book he'd been skimming through. "Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potters?" he spat, coming to stand in front of us. "Famous Harry Potter- can't even go into a _bookshop_ without him and his brat sister making the front page."

Both Harry and I glared daggers at Malfoy. If looks could kill, we'd be dancing on Malfoy's grave right about now.

"Leave them alone," Ginny snapped, taking a step forward.

Malfoy looked at her for a second, but then made eye contact with Harry. "Oh, look, Potter- you've got yourself a girlfriend," he teased.

A black cane with a tip that looked like a snake nudged him on the shoulder, making him turn around to face its owner. It was a man with the same white hair as Draco's, except it was much longer, stopping just past his shoulders. _I bet that's Malfoy's father!_

"Now, now, Draco. Play nicely," the man chided. He looked at Harry and I. "Mr. and Miss Potter..." he held out a hand, "Lucius Malfoy. We meet at last." Lucius grasped Harry's shoulder. "Forgive me..." He moved Harry's bangs with his snake-cane, and then pointed the other end at my forehead. "Your scars are legend. As, of course, is the wizard who gave it to you," he said.

"Voldemort killed our parents," Harry replied darkly.

"He wasn't a legend. He murdered innocent people," I added.

"You must be either very brave, to mention his name, or very foolish," Lucius remarked.

"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," Hermione spat.

Lucius made eye contact with her. "And you must be...Miss Granger," he said, "Yes, Draco's told me about you...and your parents."

Hermione looked over at her parents, who were chattering away with Mr. Weasley.

"Muggles...aren't they?" Lucius questioned. _What'd it matter to him if Hermione's parents were non-magic?_ He turned back to Ron, Ginny, Percy, and the twins. "Let me see. Red hair, vacant expressions..." he noted, "...tatty, secondhand book..." At this, he snatched one of Ginny's books out of her cauldron and briefly flipped through the pages, before looking up again. "You must be the Weasleys."

"Children, it's mad in here. Let's get outside," Mr. Weasley said, coming over to us. His concerned expression turned into one of hatred when he saw Lucius.

"Well, well, well. Weasley Senior," Lucius hissed.

"Lucius," Mr. Weasley retorted, giving him a death glare.

"Busy time at the Ministry, Arthur. All those extra raids. I hoped they would be paying you overtime, but it seems not," Lucius commented, "What's the use in being a disgrace to the name of wizard...if they don't even pay you for it?"

"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," Mr. Weasley replied.

"Clearly..." Lucius retorted, "Associating with Muggles..." He put the book back in Ginny's cauldron. I saw another book right behind it, with a black cover. "And I thought your family could sink no lower. I'll see you at work," Lucius said. Without another word, he stormed out of the shop.

"See you at school," Draco added, turning to look at us as he followed his father. All Harry and I could do was stand there, frozen in shock. . _As if Malfoy wasn't bad enough, Lucius is much worse._


	19. Why they call it the Whomping Willow

**Cassia's POV**

A few days later, we were at King's Cross. We hurried to get to the train station as fast as we could. We'd all overslept a little bit, and we'd had to make numerous return trips back to the Burrow because some of Ron's siblings had forgotten a few of their belongings. Since we couldn't Floo to the platform and we couldn't Apparate without getting unwanted attention from Muggles, we had no choice but to take Mr. Weasley's Ford Anglia. Driving, of course. Not flying.

"10:58. Come on, come on!" Mr. Weasley urged us. We were pretty much running to the barrier.

"The train will be leaving any moment!" Mrs. Weasley added.

"Fred, George, Percy, you first!" Mr. Weasley called out.

Percy and the twins raced through the barrier, one at a time. Then Ginny ran right through the barrier, with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley following right behind her so they could help her get settled on the train.

"Let's go," Harry said.

All 3 of us ran full speed at the wall. But instead of going through it, we crashed into it. Our carts all tipped over and our stuff fell all over the place, while Ron, Harry, and I were in a three-person pileup.

"Oi! What d'you three think you're doing?" a Muggle security guard asked, making his way towards us.

"Sorry...l-lost control of the trolley," Harry apologized as we got up.

The guard shook his head and walked away.

"Why can't we get through?" I asked, once he was out of earshot.

"I dunno. The gateway's sealed itself for some reason," Ron replied, tapping the barrier with his palm.

A loud chime echoed throughout the station, turning our attention to the overhead clock. It had just struck eleven. _Oh, no!_

"The train leaves at exactly 11:00. We've missed it!" I exclaimed.

"Harry, Cassia," Ron said, "If we can't get through, maybe Mum and Dad can't get back."

"Maybe we should go and wait by the car," Harry suggested.

"The car?" Ron repeated, looking at both of us. _What the heck is he thinking?_

* * *

The next thing I knew, we were driving a flying car to Hogwarts. Ron did the driving, while I sat in between him and Harry.

Harry looked down at the ground below us. "Ron, I should tell you. Most Muggles aren't accustomed to seeing a flying car," he said.

"Uh...right," Ron replied. He pushed a button and we turned invisible, car and all.

"All we've got to worry about now are airplanes," I joked. We all looked at each other and started laughing. For a long time, we couldn't stop.

After about 3 hours, the car became visible again.

Ron pushed the button again, and we only vanished for about 10 minutes. He pushed it again and we flickered in and out of view momentarily. Then we popped back into view again. "Oh, no! The invisibility booster must be faulty!" he exclaimed.

"Okay, then. Let's go lower. We need to find the train," Harry said.

"Okay..." Ron pulled a lever and we went lower. We were pretty much driving _on_ the train tracks.

 _So far, so good!_ "Now all we need to do is catch up with the train," I said.

"It can't be far behind," Ron added.. As if to confirm his words, we heard a whistle blowing in the distance.

"Do you hear that?" Harry asked.

"We must be getting close," I remarked. Then the whistle got louder.

Harry looked concerned. "Hold on..." he muttered.

We all looked at each other, afraid to turn behind us. Hedwig and Misty screeched and we turned around to see the train right behind us. We screamed and Ron drove us off the track as fast as humanly possible. The car started rolling in circles, like we were on a roller coaster with a never-ending corkscrew. When it finally stopped, I heard the front passenger door opening and the sound of my brother letting out a small scream. I looked down to see what was happening, and I saw Harry dangling above the train, clinging to the open door for dear life.

"Harry!" Ron and I shouted.

"Hold on!" Ron called out. He pressed another button on the car - it read 'AUTO', so I figured that meant autopilot - and leaned down as far as his seatbelt would allow him to go. "Take my hand!" He stretched out one hand, holding the wheel with the other. Harry grasped Ron's hand for a split second, but let go. "Hold on!" Ron yelled, pretty much scolding Harry for losing his grip.

"I'm trying! Your hand's all sweaty!" Harry shot back.

I decided I'd better help him, so I leaned forward as much as I could and stretched a hand down to Harry. He grabbed Ron's hand with one hand, and my wrist with his other hand. Working together, Ron and I managed to pull him up.

Harry practically slammed the door behind him once he was back in the car. "I think we found the train," he said, out of breath.

"Yep," Ron agreed.

"So how come you had bars on your window?" I asked Harry.

"This house elf named Dobby warned me not to go back. He said there was a plot to make terrible things happen," Harry explained.

"Oh my gosh, I got the same warning!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, and apparently, he took all the letters you, Ron, and Hermione had been writing to me before I got them," Harry added.

"No wonder I never got replies," I muttered.

* * *

By nightfall, we'd arrived on the school grounds.

"Welcome home," Ron said to Harry and I.

Suddenly, the car made a funny noise and started shaking. We started to drop towards the ground.

"What's happening?" I asked.

Ron pressed the gas and tried pulling a central lever upwards, but the car didn't comply. It just kept going out of control.

"Up, up!" Harry urged.

"It's not working!" Ron replied. Once again, we all started screaming and yelling.

"Mind that tree!" Harry shouted. I looked ahead and saw we were heading straight for a giant tree. _Just when I think things can't get any worse..._

Ron took out his wand and started hitting the wheel with it. "Stop, stop, stop!" he said. The wand gave a squeak and then I heard it snap like a tree branch.

Speaking of branches, we wound up crashing right into the tree. All three of us struggled to catch our breath. _We'd better be safe now, because I don't think my adrenaline can't take much more of this._

"My wand...look at my wand," Ron whimpered. His wand was broken, the top part hanging on from just a splintered edge.

"Be thankful it's not your neck," Harry said. I nodded in agreement.

Something hit the side of the car, making us all jump. I clung to Harry like my life depended on it.

"What's happening?" Ron squeaked.

"I don't know," Harry replied.

A branch hit the front of the car. Then it happened again. Pretty soon, we were receiving hits from both directions. One of the branches even poked a hole in the rear window. Then the glass in the driver's side window was completly shattered, and the roof of the car sustained a large dent. One more hit sent us crashing to the ground. Luckily, we weren't hurt. I looked behind me to see the tree bending back, ready to land one last - possibly fatal - blow.

"Come on, go! Fast!" Harry shouted.

Ron managed to drive us away in the nick of time, the tips of the branches just barely missing us.

The car came to an abrupt stop afterwards and opened its doors. I felt the seats turn sideways, sending all three of us sprawling out onto the grass. Then the car ejected our trunks, as well as our pets. Harry, Ron, and I caught our pet cages quickly.

"Scabbers, you okay?" Ron asked worriedly, looking at his rat through the cage bars.

Scabbers gave an affirmative squeak in response.

Then the car's doors slammed shut and it took off.

"The car!" Ron exclaimed.

We took off running after it, but it was too fast for us. It took off into the Forbidden Forest, and all we could do now was watch as the headlights soon disappeared from sight.

"Dad's gonna kill me," Ron muttered.

* * *

We carried our belongings into the castle and deposited them at the base of the stairs, where everyone else's luggage had been situated for the time being. But I took Cricket out of his cage so he could stretch his legs. Then we climbed up the stairs, Cricket trailing at my feet.

"So, a house elf shows up in mine and Cassia's bedrooms, we can't get through the barrier to platform nine-and-three-quarters, we almost get killed by a tree..." Harry listed everything that'd happened to us thus far.

"Someone definitely doesn't want us back this year," I said.

Filch was waiting for us at the top of the stairs, Mrs. Norris in his arms. All 3 of us froze in our tracks. "Well, take a good look, children. This night might well be the last you'll spend in this castle. Oh dear, we are in trouble," he said, amused by our sudden arrival.

We were led roughly into Snape's office.

"You were seen by no less than 7 Muggles," Snape spat. He threw aside the newspaper he had been reading. I had briefly caught a glimpse of our flying car on the cover. "Do you have any idea how serious this is? You have risked the exposure of our world. Not to mention the damage you inflicted on our Whomping Willow that's been on these grounds since before you were born," he pressed. If I said he was mad, that'd be an understatement.

"Honestly, Professor Snape, I think it did more damage to us," Ron interrupted.

"Silence!" Snape snapped. He stood up. "I assure you...that were you in Slytherin and your fate resting with me, the three of you would be on the train home tonight. As it is-"

"They are not," a familiar voice cut him off. We turned to see our Headmaster and our Head of House staring at us.

"Professor Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall," Harry muttered.

"Headmaster, these children have flouted the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry. As such-" Snape started to say, pointing to us.

Dumbledore cut him off. "I am well aware of our by-laws, Severus, having written quite a few of them myself. However, as Head of Gryffindor House, it is for Professor McGonagall to determine the appropriate action," he spoke calmly.

Ron frowned. "We'll go and get our stuff, then," he decided.

"What are you talking about, Mr. Weasley?" McGonagall asked.

"You're going to expel us, aren't you?" I piped up.

"Not today, Miss Potter," Professor McGonagall replied, "However, I must address, on all of you, the seriousness of what you have done. I will be writing to your families tonight, and you will all receive detention."

We were then sent up to our dormitories, and I didn't even bother to change into my pj's. I just crashed on my bed, with Cricket curled up on my stomach. _Hermione's not going to let us hear the end of this..._


	20. NOT how I wanted my first day back to go

**Cassia's POV**

Our first class today was Herbology. When we got into the greenhouse, everyone started chattering away...until Professor Sprout tapped a flower pot with her wand to get our attention. "Good morning, everyone!" she said loudly.

"Good morning, Professor Sprout," we returned the greeting.

"Welcome to Greenhouse 3, second years. Now gather round, everyone," Professor Sprout told us. We all obeyed. "Today, we're going to repot Mandrakes. Can anyone tell me the properties of the Mandrake root?" Professor Sprout asked.

Hermione raised a hand.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" Professor Sprout called on her.

"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is used to return those who have been Petrified to their original state. It's also quite dangerous; the Mandrake's cry is fatal to anyone who hears it," Hermione explained, putting her hand down.

"Excellent. 10 points to Gryffindor," said Professor Sprout, "Now, as our Mandrakes are still only seedlings, their cries won't kill you yet, but they could knock you out for several hours, which is why I have given each of you a pair of earmuffs, for auditory protection. So would you please put them on right away? Quickly...flaps tight down!" We obeyed. "And watch me closely. You grasp your Mandrake firmly-" she grabbed one of the Mandrakes, "-you pull it out of the pot-" she pulled it out and the Mandrake gave a horrid cry. It looked like a baby with leaves for hair. We all put our hands over our ear-muffed ears. "-and set it down in the other pot, and add a little sprinkling of soil to keep him warm," Professor Sprout continued as she transferred the Mandrake to another pot and covered it in soil.

Neville fainted just as the Mandrake stopped crying.

Professor Sprout sighed. "Longbottom's been neglecting his earmuffs," she muttered, disappointed.

"No, ma'am. He's just fainted," Seamus corrected her.

"Yes, well...just leave him there. Right, on we go, then. plenty of pots to go around. Grasp your Mandrake and pull it out," Professor Sprout instructed.

We did as she said. It was bad enough hearing one Mandrake crying, even with the earmuffs, but multiple Mandrakes crying at the same time is a whole new ballgame. Malfoy thought it'd be funny to poke the Mandrake, but it bit his finger. I laughed my head off at that. Why wouldn't I? I mean, the git had it coming!

* * *

After Herbology - which just so happened to be a double period - we got a break from classes for about 3 hours. I decided to spend that free time outside, so I sat down on a bench in the courtyard. It wasn't even cold out, it was actually somewhere between 60 and 70 degrees. The trees changing color were so beautiful- this is why autumn is my favorite season.

"Hey, Cassia," someone called my name from behind. I turned around to see Cedric running towards me.

"Hi, Cedric," I greeted him.

He bent down and gave me a huge hug once he reached me. "Why didn't you write me? I've been dying to hear from you! And how come I didn't see you on the platform or at the start-of-term feast?" he asked.

"Uh..." I struggled to come up with a reply, but then I just gave up. "It's a long story. And I doubt you'd believe me if I told you."

"Go on. I'm all ears," he encouraged me.

I patted the spot next to me on the bench, and he gladly sat down. Then I launched into the story about how Dobby sealed off the barrier and stopped mine and Harry's mail from being delivered so that we couldn't come back to Hogwarts, leading us to take Mr. Weasley's flying car...and crashing into the Whomping Willow.

"Whoa!" Cedric exclaimed, once I'd finished. "Were you guys hurt?"

I shook my head. "No, but the car is totaled." He nodded. "We're lucky we weren't expelled," I added.

"Lucky is right," Cedric agreed, "I don't know what I'd do if you were. I'd miss talking to you."

I nodded. "Same..."

"I know it's pretty late to say this, but since you didn't get the card I sent you in the mail, happy birthday," he told me.

"Aww, thanks!" I said, throwing my arms around him.

"You're welcome, Cass," he said back, returning the hug.

"So how was _your_ summer?" I asked.

"Pretty uneventful, actually. When I told Dad I met you, he wouldn't shut up about how 'his boy met one of the Potter twins'," he responded.

"That must've been annoying," I commented.

Cedric chuckled. "Oh, it was. I doubt you could imagine it..." The bell rang, signaling that the next class was about to start. "I've got to go, Cass. Nice talking to you. Hopefully we can do this again sometime," he told me.

"Yeah, that'd be great!" I agreed.

We hugged each other once more, and then went our separate ways.

* * *

Later on, at lunch, I sat with Ron, Harry, and Hermione (of course). Ron was trying to use Spell-o-tape to fix his broken wand. Hermione had given all three of us a lecture about stealing the car - which we kind of deserved - and we promised we wouldn't do it again. She let it go after that.

"Say it...I'm doomed," Ron moped, throwing down his wand.

"You're doomed," Harry and I said - not surprisingly - in sync.

"Hi, Harry, Cassia!" a boy's voice said behind us.

Harry and I turned around, only to be temporarily blinded by a camera flashing. I rubbed my eyes, trying to regain my vision.

"I'm Colin Creevey. I'm in Gryffindor, too," the boy introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, Colin," I said, shaking hands with him.

"Ron, is that your owl?" another boy asked, interrupting us. It was Dean Thomas. I knew him because he and Seamus were good friends.

Everyone looked up to see Errol flying towards us, with a letter in his beak. He came in for a landing, only to crash into a bowl of chips.

"Bloody bird's a menace," Ron complained. Errol dropped the envelope he'd been carrying in front of us. That's when I saw it was bright red.

"Oh, boy..." I muttered. I've never received a Howler before - thank goodness - but I've heard it's pretty bad.

Ron must've been thinking the same thing, because all the color on his face drained away. "Oh, no," he said, clearly frightened.

"Look, everyone, Weasley's got himself a Howler," Seamus blurted out. Everyone except me, Hermione, and Harry started laughing.

Neville was encouraging Ron to open it. "Go on, Ron," he advised him, "I ignored one from my Gran once. It was horrible."

Ron opened the envelope with _very_ shaky hands, but the second he did, we heard Mrs. Weasley shout "RONALD WEASLEY!" at the top of her lungs. Her voice echoed throughout the entire Great Hall. The letter flew up, forming a pair of lips, facing Ron. "HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR! I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED! YOUR FATHER IS NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, AND IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT! IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE, WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT HOME!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked. The letter then turned to Ginny and - in a very calm voice - added, "Oh, and Ginny, dear, congratulations on making Gryffindor. Your father and I are so proud." Then it stuck its tongue out at Ron and ripped itself into shreds. It kind of goes without saying that Harry, Ron, Hermione and I were traumatized by Mrs. Weasley's yelling after that.

Our next class, after lunch, was D.A.D.A...with Lockhart. At least half the girls in the school are smitten with him, but I'm not. I just think he's a big phony. Anyway, we all headed into the classroom and took our seats.

Lockhart came out of his office, staring at us from the balcony overlooking the classroom. "Let me introduce you to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Me," he said. He came down the stairs. "Gilderoy Lockhart. Order of Merlin, Third Class, honorary member of the Dark Force Defense League-" he smiled at a portrait of himself, "-and five-times winner of _Witch Weekly's_ Most-Charming-Smile award. But I don't talk about that; I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at him." He chuckled, flashing a smile at us.

Most of the girls, including Hermione, just smiled dreamily at him. I rolled my eyes. _What do they see in him? He's just a wizard with a massive ego!_

He crossed over to a covered object on his desk at the front of the room. "Now, be warned. It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizard kind. Know only that no harm can befall you while I am here. I must ask you not to scream. It might provoke them!" he warned us, pretty much yelling the last two words as he yanked off the cover to reveal a cage full of pixies.

"What?" I muttered to myself.

Seamus started cracking up. "Cornish pixies?" he questioned.

"Freshly caught Cornish pixies," Lockhart corrected, only earning more laughter from Seamus. "Laugh if you will, Mr. Finnegan, but pixies can be devilishly tricky little blighters. Let's see what you make of them." He released the pixies, and they flew all over the classroom, causing all sorts of chaos. Two of them grabbed Neville and hung him by his hood on the chandelier.

"Please, get me down!" Neville pleaded.

"Come on! Round them up, round them up! They're only pixies!" Lockhart encouraged us.

Two of them grabbed Neville and hung him by his hood on the chandelier.

"Please, get me down!" Neville pleaded.

"Get off me!" Hermione snapped, since another few pixies were pulling her hair.

"Stop, stop! Hold still!" Harry shouted. He took a book and whacked the pixies off.

" _Peskipiksi Pesternomi_!" Lockhart shouted, waving his wand. Nothing happened.

"I'm pretty sure that's not even a spell!" I said, firing spells at the pixies left and right. Trouble is, they wouldn't stand still.

One of the pixies took Lockhart's wand and used it to send the overhead dragon skeleton crashing to the floor. Lockhart tried to stop another pixie from taking one of his self-portraits (no surprise there) and failed. Then he looked down at us from the stairs he was on. "I'll ask you four to just nip the rest of them back into their cage..." He raced into his office, leaving us to fight the pixies.

"What'll we do now?" Ron moaned, trying to swat the pixies with his book.

Hermione whipped out her wand and pointed it to the ceiling. " _Immobulus_!" she yelled. Instantly, all the pixies froze where they were. The whole room went quiet.

"Why is it always me?" Neville asked out of the blue.


	21. Mudblood

**Cassia's POV**

On Saturday morning, I was woken up extremely early by Katie, Angelina, and Alicia.

"Come on, Cass. Wood wants us all to meet him downstairs in 5 minutes," Katie said.

I quickly got changed into my uniform and pulled my hair up into a ponytail. Then we all ran down to the common room to meet up with the rest of the team. Wood came downstairs a few seconds later, and we all started to walk down to the Quidditch Pitch.

"I spent the summer devising a new Quidditch program. We are going to train earlier, harder, and longer," Wood explained to us. A look of surprise crossed his features once he saw the Slytherin team coming our way. "What? I don't believe it..." he muttered. _This isn't gonna end well._ We walked up to them.

"Where d'you think you're going, Flint?" Wood asked.

"Quidditch practice," Flint replied.

"I booked the pitch for Gryffindor today," Wood told him.

"Easy, Wood. I've got a note," Flint warned. He handed him a piece of parchment.

Ron and Hermione came and stood beside Harry and I.

" _I, Professor Serverus Snape, do hereby give the Slytherin team permission to practice, today, owing to the need to train their new Seeker_ ," Wood read. He folded up the note. "You've got a new Seeker. Who?" he asked.

Some of the Slytherins stepped aside, and Malfoy came out to face us.

"Malfoy?" Harry and I said, unable to believe it.

"That's right. And that's not all that's new this year," Malfoy replied. We saw the Slytherins had different brooms than we did.

"Those are _Nimbus 2001s_!" Ron exclaimed, "How did you get those?"

"A gift from Draco's father," Flint answered.

"You see, Weasley, unlike some, _my_ father can afford the best."

"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to _buy_ their way in. They got in on pure talent," Hermione remarked.

"Exactly, and they're not stuck-up, arrogant, spoiled brats, either," I chimed in, standing next to Hermione.

Malfoy looked towards Hermione, angry. "No one asked for _your_ opinion, you filthy little Mudblood," he snapped.

That made me angry. "Well, no one wants to hear you brag about how much money you have, snob," I retorted. Suddenly, I felt my tongue glue itself to the roof of my mouth. I couldn't speak _or_ open my mouth. I started to panic.

"What's the matter, Potter? Cat got your tongue?" Malfoy teased.

Now I was _really_ mad. He'd used a Langlok curse on me! I slapped him and heard some people "Oooh"-ing.

It's a good thing Hermione knew how to counter it. She pointed her wand at my mouth. " _Finite_ ," she said. My tongue became unglued, and I could talk again.

"Thanks, Hermione," I whispered.

"Well, I couldn't let him get away with it, could I?" she whispered back.

Ron wasn't gonna let him either. "You'll pay for that one, Malfoy," he snapped, taking out his wand. "Eat slugs!" He flicked his wand at Malfoy, but the hex rebounded, sending him flying backwards. Harry, Hermione, and I - plus the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team - ran over to him to see if he was alright.

"You okay, Ron?" Hermione asked.

Ron's mouth was so full that he basically had chipmunk cheeks. All he could give in reply was a gurgle. He looked like he was gonna throw up.

"Say something!" Hermione urged him.

Ron spit out a slug, making us all grimace. Alicia, Angie, and Katie all made exclamations of pure disgust.

Someone snapped a picture from behind us, and we looked to see it was Collin. "Wow! Can you turn him around, guys?" Collin asked.

"No, Collin, get out of the way!" Harry ordered. We pulled Ron to his feet, just as he threw up another slug.

"Ugh..." I muttered, wrinkling my nose.

"Let's take him to Hagrid. He'll know what to do," Harry suggested.

All four of us ran off to Hagrid's hut.

"This calls for a specialist's equipment," Hagrid said, handing Ron a bucket. "Nothin' left to do but wait 'til it stops, I'm afraid."

Ron spit out another slug, making me wrinkle my nose again. Harry grimaced. He was just as disgusted as I was.

"Well, better out than in," Hagrid said. He looked at Harry and I. "Who was he tryin' ter curse, anyway?"

"Malfoy," we both said in unison. _Oh, the perks of being a twin..._

"He used a Langlok jinx on Cass and he called Hermione..." Harry started to say. "...well, I don't know exactly what it means."

Hermione stood up and walked to the other side of the room. "He called me a Mudblood," she answered, crossing her arms.

Hagrid gasped. "He did not!"

"What's a Mudblood?" Harry asked.

"Something you _really_ don't want to say," I replied.

Hermione whirled around to face us. "Cassia's right, Harry. And it means 'dirty blood'. Mudblood's a really foul name for someone who's Muggle-born. Someone with non-magic parents. Someone like me," she explained.

I nodded to confirm her words.

"It's not a term one usually hears in a civilized conversation," she added, sitting back down.

"You see, Harry, there are some wizards, like the Malfoy family, who think they're better than everyone else because they're what people call 'pure blood'," Hagrid jumped in.

"That's horrible," Harry said.

I nodded in agreement. "No kidding..."

Ron spit out another slug. "It's disgusting..." he groaned out.

"And it's codswallop to us. 'Dirty blood'...why, there isn't a wizard alive today that's not half-blood or less. More to the point, they've yet to think of a spell that our Hermione can't do," Hagrid added. He turned to Hermione. "Come here..."

Hermione walked over to him.

Hagrid took her hands in his. "Don't you think on it, Hermione. Don't you think on it for one minute. Eh?" he told her, making her crack a smile.

I got up and hugged her. "Hagrid's right. Malfoy's just trying to get a rise out of you," I said.

Hermione wrapped her arms around me, hugging me back. Harry, Ron, and even Hagrid joined in, turning the 2-person hug into one big - and I mean _big_ \- group hug.


	22. The Chamber of Secrets?

**Cassia's POV**

McGonagall had Ron, Harry, and I serve our detentions for the car incident tonight. Ron had to polish the silver in the trophy room, Harry had to help Lockhart answer his...ugh...fan mail (Seriously, I don't know why the hell this egomaniac got picked to be our teacher this year!), and Snape had me scrubbing cauldrons and rearranging potion ingredients on the shelves, _without_ magic. But honestly, that wasn't the bad part. The bad part was that I felt like Snape was always glaring so hard at me, even when I wasn't looking. Anyway, after about 3 hours of that, Snape let me go. The corridors were pretty much empty, but that's because everyone was at dinner. As I rounded a corner, a strange hissing sound filled my ears. But it wasn't just hissing - it was _talking_ , too!

I pressed my ear against the wall so I could figure out where it was coming from. As I edged further down the deserted corridor, I heard the hissing voice getting louder. The only word I could make out was "Kill". It made my blood run cold.

"Sis?" I heard Harry calling me.

I looked straight ahead and saw him walking closer to me.

"Harry, did you hear that?" I asked, withdrawing my ear from the wall.

He nodded. "In Lockhart's office. And then just now."

My hands started shaking as I remembered hearing the voice. "It was just barely a whisper, but the only word I could make out was..." I gulped. "...'kill'."

Harry and I looked at each other, both thinking the same thing - _This is NOT good!_

"Harry? Cassia?" Hermione called out, snapping us back to reality. We looked in the direction of her voice and saw that she and Ron had come from around the next corner to meet up with us. _Hermione probably came to get Ron after he was done with detention_.

"Did you guys hear that?" Harry asked.

"Hear what?" Ron asked, confused.

"That voice," I answered.

"Voice? What voice?" Hermione asked. _Did she seriously not hear it?_

"I heard it first in Lockhart's office, and then again, just..." Harry stopped. The voice sounded again. "It's moving..." he said, growing as pale as I was now.

"I think it's going to kill," I muttered. We both broke into a run to see where the...whatever was making that sound...was heading.

"Kill?" I heard Ron echo from behind.

"Harry, Cassia, wait! Not so fast!" Hermione exclaimed as she and Ron ran to catch up to us.

We came to a stop at the end of the hall, just as the mysterious voice disappeared. A group of spiders - I don't know how many, probably at least 90 - was running out of a crack in one of the stained-glass windows.

"Strange...I've never seen spiders act like that," Harry noted.

"I don't like spiders," Ron said, his voice quivering with fear.

I looked down at the wet floor, and saw what looked like a reflection of something written on the wall in front of us. "What's that?" I asked, pointing.

We looked up and saw the writing on the wall, in bright red letters. And I mean _bright red_.

"'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware...'" Hermione read the message.

I wrinkled my nose. "It almost looks like it's been written with blood..."

"Oh, no," Harry muttered, his eyes focused on something else. We followed his gaze to see Filch's cat hanging from one of the wall torches, frozen in a prowling position. Her eyes were wide open.

"It's Filch's cat. Mrs. Norris," I said in shock. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely hate Filch and Mrs. Norris, but I would never wish something like this on her in a million years.

Pretty soon, the corridor was packed. Students and staff crowded around the wall in front of us, pointing and gasping in shock at what had just happened. I noticed Collin pull out his camera to take a picture, but - thankfully - someone stopped him.

"Enemies of the heir, beware?" Malfoy read. He looked over at us and scowled. "You'll be next, Mudbloods."

"Oh, shut up, Malfoy," I snapped.

"What's going on here? Get out of my way," Filch barked, pushing his way through the crowd. He glared at Harry and I. "Potter...what are you..." he stopped when he looked up at Mrs. Norris. "Mrs. Norris...?" His gaze turned back to the two of us. "You've murdered my cat," he said. His voice was laced with fury.

Harry shook his head. "No..." he muttered.

"I'll kill ya," Filch spat. He grabbed Harry by the clasp of his robes. "I'll kill ya!" he roared. I tried to push him off my brother, but he knocked me to the floor.

"Argus," Dumbledore spoke, bringing everything to a screeching halt.

Filch turned to him and let go. "Argus, I..." Dumbledore stopped when he saw Mrs. Norris. "Everyone will proceed to their dormitories immediately," he said. We turned and started to walk away. "Everyone except...you four."

 _Oh, great._ "Seriously?" I whispered to Harry, who simply shrugged in response.

Dumbledore walked closer to Mrs. Norris and examined her condition. "She is not dead, Argus. But she has been Petrified," he told Filch.

"Ah, thought so. So unlucky I wasn't there, Professor," Lockhart boasted, "I know exactly the counter-curse that could have spared her."

"Sure you did," I muttered. Luckily, the only ones who heard me were Harry and Ron.

"But how she has been Petrified, I cannot say," Dumbledore said.

"Ask them. It's them that's done it. You saw what they wrote on the wall," Filch told him, pointing an accusing finger at Harry and then at me.

"It's not true, sir. I swear! I never touched Mrs. Norris, and neither did Cassia," Harry protested.

I nodded in agreement.

"Rubbish," Filch snapped.

"If I might, Headmaster, perhaps Potter and his friends were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, the circumstances are suspicious. I, for one, don't recall seeing Mr. Potter at dinner," Snape interrupted.

"I'm afraid that's my doing, Severus. You see, Harry was with me, helping me answer my fan mail," Lockhart explained.

"That's why Ron and I went looking for him, Professor. We'd just found him and Cassia when Harry said..." Hermione trailed off. She looked at us for an answer.

"When I said I wasn't hungry. We were heading back to the common room when we found Mrs. Norris," Harry finished her sentence.

Dumbledore made eye contact with Snape. "Innocent until proven guilty, Severus," he said.

"My cat has been Petrified. I wanna see some punishment!" Filch snapped.

"We will be able to cure her, Argus," Dumbledore reassured him. "As I understand it, Professor Sprout has a healthy growth of Mandrake. When matured, a potion will be made, which will revive Mrs. Norris. In the meantime, I strongly recommend caution...to all."

All four of us headed back to the common room.

"It's a bit strange, isn't it?" Hermione remarked, stopping on one of the staircases and turning to face us. We all stopped right behind her.

"Strange?" Harry repeated.

"You and Cassia hear this voice. A voice only both of you can hear. And then Mrs. Norris turns out Petrified. It's just...strange," Hermione told us.

"Do you think we should've told them? Dumbledore and the others, I mean?" Harry asked.

"Are you mad?!" Ron exclaimed.

"No, guys. Even in the wizarding world, hearing voices isn't a good sign," Hermione said. She turned on her heel and continued her route to the common room.

"She's right, you know," a man in one of the portraits warned us.

"Could I have your attention, please? Right. Today, we will be transforming animals into water goblets. Like so," McGonagall explained in Transfiguration class the next day. She tapped a nearby bird three times with her wand and said " _Vera Verto_." The bird transformed into a goblet. "Now it's your turn. Who would like to go first?" She scanned the room. A few hands went up in the air. "Ah, Mr. Weasley," said McGonagall. She walked over to him. "One, two, three, Vera Verto," she instructed.

Ron cleared his throat and tapped Scabbers three times with his wand. Then he said " _Vera Verto_."

Scabbers turned into a furry goblet, with his tail still visible. We could all hear the filthy rat squeaking. Some of the Slytherins obviously found this funny, because they started snickering (very loudly, I might add).

"That wand needs replacing, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall reprimanded him.

Hermione raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" McGonagall called on her.

"Professor, I was wondering if you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets," Hermione requested.

McGonagall looked reluctant, but gave a slight nod. "Very well. You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago, by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age; Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazaar Slytherin. Now, three of the founders co-existed quite harmoniously, though one did not," she explained.

"Three guesses who," Ron muttered to Harry.

McGonagall nodded. "Salazaar Slytherin wished to be more selective of the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. In other words, Purebloods. Unable to sway the others, he decided to leave the school. Now, according to legend, Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in this castle, known as the Chamber of Secrets. Though shortly before departing, he sealed it, until that time when his true heir returned to the school. The heir, alone, would be able to open the chamber and unleash the horror within, and by so doing, purge the school of all those who, in Slytherin's view, were unworthy to study magic," she went on.

Hermione instantly knew what was meant. "Muggleborns," she muttered.

"Yes. Well, naturally, the school has been searched many times. No such chamber has been found," McGonagall concluded.

"Professor, what exactly - does legend tell us - lies within the chamber?" I asked.

"The chamber is said to be home of something only the Heir of Slytherin can control. It is said to be the home...of a monster," McGonagall answered.

My eyes widened at this. A monster, hidden somewhere in this school? And someone here could be the heir of Slytherin? Something's up...

"D'you think it's true? D'you think there really is a Chamber of Secrets?" Ron asked as we left the classroom.

"Yes," Hermione replied, "Couldn't you tell? McGonagall's worried, all the teachers are."

"But if there _is_ a Chamber of Secrets, a-and it really has been opened, then that means-" Harry started.

"-the heir of Slytherin has returned to Hogwarts," I finished.

"The question is, who is it?" Hermione asked.

"Let's think," Ron said. "Who do we know who thinks all Muggle-borns are scum?"

"If you're talking about Malfoy-" Hermione started to warn him.

Ron cut her off. "Of course! You heard him: 'You'll be next, Mudbloods'!"

"Maybe Ron's right, Hermione. I mean, look at his family; the whole lot of them have been in Slytherin for _centuries_ ," Harry explained.

I nodded in agreement.

"Crabbe and Goyle must know. Maybe we could trick 'em into telling," Ron suggested.

Hermione scoffed. "Even they aren't that thick," she said. "But there might be another way. Mind you, it will be difficult, not to mention we'd be breaking about fifty school rules. _And_ it'll be dangerous... _very_ dangerous."

Hermione dragged us to the library for free period. After scanning the shelves for about 10 minutes, Hermione came running over to us with a book titled _Most Potente Potions_. She flipped through the pages, stopping towards the middle of the book. "Here it is. The Polyjuice Potion. Properly brewed, the Polyjuice Potion allows the drinker to transform themselves temporarily into the physical form of another," she read.

"You mean if Harry and I drink that stuff, we'll turn into Crabbe and Goyle?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Hermione answered.

"Wicked! Malfoy tells them anything!" Ron whisper-exclaimed.

"Exactly, but it's tricky. I've never seen a more complicated potion," Hermione interrupted, glancing at the book.

"How long will it take to make?" Harry asked.

"A month," Hermione replied.

"A month?" Harry and I repeated.

"Even if more than one person were brewing it?" I questioned.

Hermione nodded. "Unfortunately..."

"But Hermione, Cassia, if Malfoy _is_ the heir of Slytherin, he could attack half the Muggle-borns in the school by then."

"I know. But it's the only plan we've got," Hermione said.


	23. Rogue Bludger

**Cassia's POV**

The next day was the first Quidditch match of the year, us against Slytherin. And we were losing by 50 points. Neither Malfoy nor Harry had caught the snitch.

One of the Slytherin chasers tried to score, but Wood blocked him. When he tried again, the Quaffle sailed through one of the hoops, and a 'bong' rang throughout the pitch.

"Another goal for Slytherin!" Lee announced. "They lead Gryffindor, 90 to 30!"

The Chaser seemed proud of himself. But if you ask me, he was a little _too_ proud. _Typical Slytherins._

I circled the field, watching in case the opposing team tried to cheat by hurting my teammates like they did last year. So far, nothing.

But out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the Bludgers hurtling in Harry's direction. "Harry, watch out!" I cried.

Harry looked to see the Bludger coming at him and dodged it just in time. Unfortunately, the Bludger started chasing him all over the pitch.

"What the heck?" I muttered to myself as I watched this happen. Fred and George tried to whack the Bludger towards the Slytherin's side, but every time one of them did, the Bludger would boomerang back at Harry.

"Alright there, Scarhead?" I heard Malfoy taunting Harry. I stuck my tongue out at the jerk from where I was, across the way.

Harry dodged the bludger once more, and it went flying out of the stadium.

"Watch yourself, Harry!" Wood shouted, looking over at Harry. In the distance, I could see the bludger starting to return, heading straight for him.

"Wood, look out!" Harry cried. _Looks like he saw it, too._

Wood turned just in time to see the Bludger coming at him, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid it. It hit the top of his broomstick, breaking it and sending him to the ground. Once again, the Bludger started chasing Harry. As if that wasn't bad enough, the other Bludger started speeding towards me. On instinct, I swerved to avoid getting knocked off my broom. But then it came back for another go at me. Harry and I flew in every direction, trying to get the Bludgers off our trail. _Last I checked, Bludgers weren't supposed to target one individual!_

Malfoy flew over to us after we'd just managed to avert the Bludger for a short while. "Training for the ballet, Potters?" he mocked, making me roll my eyes again.

"Shut up! This doesn't concern you!" I snapped at him.

"Sis, we've got trouble," Harry said, gaining my attention. I looked over at him to see he was glancing behind us. Sure enough, he was right. Both Bludgers were coming back at us. We ducked to avoid it. Malfoy obviously saw it too, because he ducked as well. I saw the Snitch right by Malfoy, and Harry chased after it, with Malfoy - and the Bludger - hot on his trail.

No matter how many times Fred and George tried to block the other Bludger, it wouldn't stop going in my direction. It's like it was dead set on hitting me.

Whilst flying around the pitch, trying to lose the Bludger, I felt something hit my ankle _hard_. I heard a loud CRACK and I knew immediately that I'd been hit. Pain spread all throughout my ankle, sending me crashing to the ground below. It was a miracle that I didn't sustain any further injuries. My ankle hurt so much- it was the most painful thing I'd ever experienced. Looking up, I saw the other bludger hit Harry right in the arm as he was reaching for the snitch. He looked like he was in a lot of pain as he continued to pursue the gold ball. He reached out further, but he fell to the ground, landing beside me.

"Harry, are you okay?" I asked.

He nodded and held up the Snitch. "Caught it right before I fell..."

"Harry Potter has caught the snitch! Gryffindor wins!" Lee exclaimed.

Ignoring the terrible pain in my ankle, I sat up and hugged Harry.

He chuckled and hugged me back. "We did good, sis," he said.

Our victory moment was ruined by the two Bludgers trying to us in the head. Harry and I rolled to the right and then to the left to dodge it. The Bludgers both slammed into the ground, right between Harry's legs, and then shot straight up before coming back down.

Just before it could come close to reaching us, I heard Hermione shout, " _Finite Incantatem_!" causing it to explode. Hermione, Ron, my teammates, and almost everyone in the Gryffindor section of the bleachers came running over to us.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, kneeling down next to us.

"No. I think...I think my arm is broken," Harry replied, inhaling sharply. He looked at me with a concerned expression. "Where did it get you, sis?"

"M-My ankle..." I replied, gritting my teeth as I tried not to scream out.

"Not to worry, Harry and Cassia. I will fix that arm and ankle of yours straightaway," Lockhart assured us, coming over kneeling to our level.

"No...not you," Harry pleaded.

I shook my head, inhaling sharply again. _Please, anyone but this bozo!_

Lockhart scoffed, "Poor boy doesn't know what he's saying. Now this-" he gently took Harry's arm "-won't hurt a bit." He rolled up Harry's sleeve and pointed his wand at it. " _Brackium Emmendo_!" he said. A blue light shone on Harry's arm briefly, before fading. Lockhart held up Harry's arm, which made a sloshing sound. Everyone looked grossed out. "Ah, yes. Well, that can sometimes happen," Lockhart explained, "But the point is..." he bent Harry's wrist back. "...you can no longer feel any pain. And, very clearly, the bones are not broken."

"Broken? There's no bones left!" Hagrid snapped.

As if to prove his point, Harry's wrist bent back into its original position.

"Much more flexible, though," Lockhart remarked.

* * *

Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the team got Harry and I to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey had the two of us lie back on two beds while she went to get some medicine for us. Between Malfoy's incessant groaning and the ever-increasing pain in my ankle, I just couldn't relax.

"Oh, Mr. Malfoy, stop making such a fuss. You can go. Out of my way, out of my way!" Madam Pomfrey ordered, rushing back towards Harry and I. "They should've been brought straight to me. I can mend bones in a heartbeat, but growing them back..." she trailed off.

"You will be able to, won't you?" Hermione asked.

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "Oh, I'll be able to, certainly, but it'll be painful," she warned, pouring a bottle of some clear liquid called Skele-Gro into a glass. "You're in for a rough night, Mr. Potter. Regrowing bones is a nasty business," she told Harry, handing him the glass. Harry took one sip and spat it out immediately, making me wrinkle my nose.

"So is drinking that stuff, apparently," I muttered to myself.

"Well, what do you expect? Pumpkin juice?" Madam Pomfrey asked, taking the glass away. She went over to me and pulled out her wand. " _Episkey_ ," I heard her whisper. For one split second, my ankle felt like it was on fire inside, making me let out a slight scream. Then I heard a small _snap_ and my ankle didn't hurt as much anymore.

* * *

Madam Pomfrey had me stay overnight with Harry tonight. We'd both be discharged in the morning. But it was _extremely_ difficult for either of us to get some sleep, because Harry's arm was hurting from the bones growing back (She wasn't kidding when she told him it'd be painful) and we could hear the hissing noise again.

"That's gotta be the monster," I whispered to Harry.

"But what is it? And where is it going?" he asked.

We listened for a minute and we heard it again, but fainter this time.

"I don't know, but my guess is it's looking for someone out of bed to either kill or Petrify," I assumed.

The hissing grew so faint that I could barely hear it. And then it was gone. It was deathly quiet in the hospital wing.

I felt a weight resting itself near my leg, and I looked in front of me to see Dobby was sitting on it.

"Hello," he greeted me.

"Dobby?" Harry questioned, as shocked as Iwas.

"Harry and Cassia Potter should have listened to Dobby. Harry and Cassia should've gone back home when they missed the train," Dobby told us.

"I said I'd think about it," I corrected him. My angered expression turned into a skeptical one. "Wait a minute, how did you know about missing the train?" I asked him. When he didn't answer, that's when it hit me. Dobby had been behind the barrier closing on us!

Harry must've read my mind, because when I glanced at him, I saw his eyes were as wide as saucers. "It was you. You stopped the barrier from letting us through," he said.

Dobby nodded. "Indeed, yes..."

"You almost got us all expelled," I whisper-snapped.

"At least you would be away from here. Harry Potter and Cassia Potter must go home. Dobby thought his Bludger would be enough to make Harry and Cassia Potter see," Dobby told us.

"You made that Bludger chase after us?" Harry questioned.

"Are you insane?! You broke my ankle!" I snapped.

Dobby had a shameful look on his face."Dobby is most aggrieved, miss. Dobby had to iron his hands," he admitted, showing us his bandaged little hands. Poor little guy. Even after what he did to us, I pitied him.

"You'd better clear off before my bones come back, Dobby, or I might strangle you," Harry threatened.

At this, Dobby fell off the edge of the bed. "Dobby is used to death threats, sir. Dobby gets them five times a day at home," he said. _He's threatened 5 times a day by his master? What kind of person does that to an innocent little house elf?_

"I don't suppose you could tell me why you're trying to kill us," Harry said.

"Not kill you, sir, _never_ kill you," Dobby said, standing up on his feet again. "Dobby remembers how it was before the Potter twins triumphed over He Who Must Not Be Named. We house elves were treated like vermin, sir. Of course, Dobby is still treated like a vermin..." He started crying hysterically, and then he blew his nose into the pillowcase he was wearing. I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

"Why do you wear that thing, Dobby?" Harry asked.

"This, sir, 'tis a mark of the house elf's enslavement. Dobby can only be freed if his master presents him with clothes," Dobby explained. He nearly jumped out of his skin when we all heard the faint sound of footsteps coming our way. "Listen! Listen! Terrible things are about to happen at Hogwarts! Harry and Cassia Potter cannot stay here, now that history is to repeat itself," he hissed, jumping up onto the bed.

"Repeat itself?" I echoed.

"You mean this has happened before?" Harry questioned.

Dobby panicked. "Oh! I shouldn't have said that!" He reached for the bottle of Skele-Gro and started hitting himself with it. "Bad Dobby!" he scolded himself.

"Dobby...Dobby, stop it! Stop it!" Harry whisper-snapped, yanking the bottle away from him.

I picked Dobby up and set him in front of us. My hands gripped his shoulders gently but firmly. "Tell us, Dobby. When did this happen before? Who's doing it now?" I asked.

"Dobby cannot say. Dobby only wants Harry Potter and his sister to be safe," Dobby said, patting my arm.

"No. Tell us, Dobby. Who is it?" Harry asked.

Dobby snapped his fingers and disappeared into thin air. We didn't have time to be shocked, because out of the corner of my eye, I could see shadows approaching. Harry and I jumped into our beds and pretended to be asleep, just as we heard four people coming in.

"Put him here," I heard McGonagall order. From what she'd said, I could only guess there had been another attack.

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

Dumbledore spoke next. "There has been another attack," he answered. _Okay, so THAT answers my question. But now I have another one: who the heck could have been out of bed at this hour, other than the prefects?_

"I think - I think he's been Petrified, Madam Pomfrey. Perhaps he managed to take a picture of his attacker," McGonagall said. _Oh, no._ Colin Creevey, our personal stalker, had just been attacked. I heard Dumbledore open the camera, only for a small explosion to emit. Even from three beds away, Harry and I caught the terrible smell of burning film.

"What can this mean, Albus?" McGonagall asked, her voice shaking.

"It means...that our students are in grave danger," Dumbledore replied.

"What should I tell the staff?" McGonagall asked.

"The truth," said Dumbledore, "Tell them Hogwarts...is no longer safe. It is as we feared, Minerva. The Chamber of Secrets has, indeed, been opened again." Dobby was right - history DID repeat itself! But how?


	24. Harry's a Parselmouth!

**Cassia's POV**

Once Harry and I were let out of the hospital wing, we met up with Ron and Hermione in one of the girls' bathrooms. While Hermione was working on the potion, we filled her in on what'd happened last night.

"Again? You mean the Chamber of Secrets has been opened before?" she asked.

"Of course! Lucius Malfoy must've opened it while he was at school. And now he's taught Draco how to do it," Ron guessed.

Hermione shrugged. "Maybe. We'll have to wait for the Polyjuice Potion to know for sure," she said, adding another ingredient to the cauldron.

"Enlighten me- why are we brewing this potion, in broad daylight, in the middle of a girls' lavatory?" Ron asked. "Don't you think we'll get caught?"

Hermione snickered. "No. No one ever comes in here," she answered.

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Moaning Myrtle," Hermione replied.

"Who?" Ron asked, lifting an eyebrow. A ghost appeared right behind him. She had glasses, and her hair was done in pigtails. What shocked me the most was that she was wearing Hogwarts robes.

"Moaning Myrtle," Hermione repeated.

"Who's Moaning Myrtle?" Ron asked.

" _I'm_ Moaning Myrtle!" the ghost-girl snapped, glaring at Ron. She floated up to the top of the sinks and faced us. "I wouldn't expect you to know me. Who would ever talk about ugly, miserable, moping, Moaning Myrtle?" She sniffled and screamed as she flew into one of the cubicles and dove headfirst into the toilet, making a _huge_ splash.

"She's a little sensitive," Hermione mentioned, making me scoff.

"A little?" I echoed.

* * *

Today, there was going to be a dueling club meeting run by (surprise, surprise) Lockhart. We all crowded around a table that had been set up in the Great Hall for dueling. Lockhart got up and started walking across it. "Gather round! Gather round! Can everybody see me? Can you all hear me?" Silence. "Excellent." He whirled around. "In light of the dark events of recent weeks, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all up in case you ever need to defend yourselves, as I myself have done on countless occasions. For full details, see my published works." He threw his cloak at a bunch of girls. "Allow me to introduce my assistant, Professor Snape."

Snape came up onto the table.

"He has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration," Lockhart continued, "Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry. You'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him. Never fear." He met up with Snape in the middle of the table. They brought their wands to their faces and then back to their sides before bowing. Then they adjourned to opposite sides of the table, wands raised.

"One...two...three," Lockhart counted.

" _Expelliarmus_!" Snape's disarming spell hit Lockhart square in the chest, sending him flying backwards.

"Do you think he's alright?" Hermione asked.

"Who cares?" Ron asked.

"True that," I said, agreeing with him.

"That Lockhart's something, isn't he? Awful brave young chap," a boy said from behind me. I turned to see him shake hands with Harry. "Justin Finch-Fletchley. Hufflepuff," he introduced himself. He turned to me and shook my hand as well.

"Pleased to meet you, Justin. I'm-" I started to introduce myself.

"Oh, everyone knows who you two are. Even us Muggle-borns," Justin said, cutting me off.

Lockhart got back on his feet and walked over to Snape. "Excellent demonstration, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind me saying, it was pretty obvious of what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you, it would have only been too easy," he bragged.

"Perhaps it would be prudent to first teach the students to block unfriendly spells, Professor," Snape suggested.

"An excellent suggestion, Professor Snape," Lockhart conceded, "Let's have a volunteer pair." He scanned the crowd for a few measley seconds before his eyes fell on Harry and I. "Potters, you two against Weasley. How 'bout it?"

"Is he for real?" I whispered to Harry, who simply shrugged in response as we made our way through the crowd and got up onto the table.

"Weasley's wand causes devastation with the simplest spells. We will be sending Mr. Potter to the Hospital Wing in a matchbox," Snape interjected. "Might I suggest someone from my own house? Malfoy, perhaps?" He pointed at Malfoy, signaling him to come up. Malfoy got onto the table, and the three of us started to walk towards each other.

Lockhart made his way to the far end of the table so he'd be out of the line of fire. "Good luck, Potters," he whispered as he passed us on the way.

"Thank you, sir," Harry replied. I didn't say anything.

"Wands at the ready," Lockhart instructed. Harry, Malfoy, and I brought our wands up to our faces.

"You and Sissy scared, Potter?" Malfoy taunted.

"You wish," Harry retorted.

"It's on, Malfoy," I added. We dropped our hands and then walked to opposite ends of the table. Harry and I pointed our wands at Malfoy, and Malfoy pointed his at us. Obviously, he couldn't get both of us at once, so he was going to have to duel us one at a time. I could tell by the look on his face that he was trying to decide who to hit first.

"On the count of three, cast your spells to disarm your opponent. ONLY to disarm. We don't want any accidents here. One...two..." Lockhart counted them down.

" _Everte Statim_!" Malfoy cut him off, shooting a spell at Harry. It sent him flying backwards, in a similar manner to what Snape had previously done with Lockhart.

Harry got up again and aimed at Malfoy. He was furious. " _Rictusempra_!" he shouted. A bright red light shot out of Harry's wand and sent Malfoy cartwheeling backwards, landing on his bum. He leapt to his feel and aimed his next spell at Harry. " _Tarentallegra_!"

Harry's legs started tap dancing out of control. Some of the Slytherins started laughing at him, including Crabbe and Goyle.

Luckily, Snape knew how to counter Malfoy's jinx. With a flick of his wrist and a " _Finite Incantatem_ ", Harry's legs stopped dancing, and the Slytherins watching him stopped laughing.

I glared daggers at Malfoy. _Alright, mister. You asked for it._ " _Obscuro_!" I fired at him. A blindfold popped over his eyes, so he couldn't see. Now almost everyone was laughing at him.

As fun as it was to see our biggest bully get humiliated in front of his own house, it did come to an end eventually, when Snape ripped the blindfold off Malfoy's face.

"I said disarm only!" Lockhart snapped.

Malfoy got really mad. " _Serpensortia_!" he yelled, his wand aimed at us. A snake shot out from the tip of his wand and started slithering its way over to us.

"Don't move, Potters. I'll get rid of it for you," Snape said, coming over to us.

Lockhart stopped him before he could draw his wand. "Allow me, Professor Snape," he insisted. He pointed his wand at the snake. " _Alarte Ascendare_!" His spell did absolutely nothing to make the snake go away. It just sent the snake flying almost to the ceiling, and then dropped it back down in front of us.

The snake continued to make its way over to us. But Harry walked towards it and...spoke to it. I couldn't tell what he was saying, though. To me, it sounded like a mixture of hissing and gibberish. All of a sudden, the snake turned to Justin and hissed, coming within easy striking distance of him. Harry hissed to the snake again, snapping its attention back to him.

" _Vipera Evanesca_ ," Snape muttered, pointing his wand at the snake. It burst into ash and disintegrated.

"What are you playing at?" Justin asked, angry.

Everyone looked at Harry and I, shocked. I didn't know why they were looking at me, though. I didn't speak to the snake.

* * *

"You're a Parselmouth? Why didn't you tell us?" Ron asked Harry, once we got back into the common room.

"I'm a _what_?" Harry questioned.

"You can talk to snakes," Hermione clarified for him.

"I didn't know. I mean, I accidentally set a python on my cousin Dudley at the zoo once. Once. But so what? I bet loads of people here can do it," Harry objected.

"No, they can't. It's not a very common gift, Harry," Hermione warned, "This is bad."

"What's bad?" Harry asked, "If I hadn't told that snake not to attack Justin-"

Ron cut him off. "So _that's_ what you said to it!"

"You were there. You heard me," Harry insisted.

"I heard you speaking Parseltongue. Snake language," Ron corrected him. Both of us were both shocked at this.

"Harry spoke a different language?" I repeated.

Ron and Hermione nodded.

"But I didn't realize...how can I speak a language without knowing I can?" Harry asked.

"I don't know, Harry, but it sounded like you were egging the snake on or something. Harry, listen to me. There's a reason the symbol of Slytherin House is a serpent. Salazaar Slytherin was a Parselmouth. He could talk to snakes, too," Hermione replied.

"Exactly. Now the whole school's gonna think you and Cass are his great-great-great grandchildren or something," Ron jumped in.

"But I'm not!" Harry snapped, "I...I can't be. And Cassia never spoke to the snake."

I nodded in agreement. "He's right. It makes no sense. How could Harry be the heir of Slytherin? And how am _I_ involved? I'm not a Parselmouth."

"He lived a thousand years ago. For all we know, you could be. And Cassia could be guilty by association," Hermione explained.

Okay, this is officially freaking me out. Why? 1) Only Harry and I can hear the monster speak, 2) Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey are Petrified, and now 3) Everyone's going to turn against Harry and I just because Harry spoke to a snake.


	25. Talk with Dumbledore

**Cassia's POV**

For the next few days, Harry and I were getting dirty looks from all the other students. Except for Ron and Hermione, of course. But Cedric? I had no clue about him, given that I barely saw him anymore.

One day, we were all working on homework in one of the classrooms, with McGonagall watching us. I could feel people's eyes on me. Harry must've felt it, too, because every time he turned around, the people glaring at us just turned back to their work.

After a while, Harry got sick of it, so he put his things back into his bag and stood up. "See you back in the common room," he said to Hermione and Ron. He looked over at me. "Come on, Cass. Let's go."

I packed my stuff up and followed him out of the room.

"So, anyway, I told Justin to hide up in our dormitory. I mean to say, if Potter's marked him as his next victim, it's best he keeps a low profile for a while," we heard a boy saying. Both of us stopped to listen.

"But why would he want to attack Justin?" a girl asked.

"Well, Justin let it slip to both Potters that he was Muggle-born," the boy replied.

"And you definitely think Harry's the heir of Slytherin?" the girl assumed.

"Hannah, he's a Parselmouth. Everyone knows that's the mark of a dark wizard. Have you ever heard of a decent one who could talk to snakes? They called Slytherin himself Serpent-Tongue," the boy said. Hannah? There was only one girl I knew with that name- Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff about the same age as Harry and I.

"But Harry and Cassia always seemed so nice, though, Ernie. And after all, they are the ones who made You-Know-Who disappear. Cassia even took a hit for him up on the third floor last year," Hannah objected.

"Well, maybe that's why You-Know-Who wanted to kill 'em in the first place. Didn't want another Dark Lord or Lady competing with him," Ernie assumed.

"Ernie, that makes no sense. Harry and Cassia are Gryffindors, and they're both way too nice to attack fellow students," someone chimed in. To my surprise, it was Cedric. _He thinks we're innocent?_ I breathed a small sigh of relief.

Harry held my hand as we started walking back to the common room. But soon, a familiar hissing noise made us stop again. It was the monster, no doubt. The sound grew louder and louder, and then it just...stopped. As we rounded a corner, I gasped. Justin and Nearly Headless Nick had been Petrified.

"Caught in the act," someone snarled. Both of us turned to see Filch. "I'll have you and your sister out this time, Potter. Mark my words," he warned, before staggering off.

"No. Mr. Filch, y-you don't understand-" Harry tried to tell him, but he was gone.

Moments later, Professor McGonagall came towards us. She gasped when she saw Nick and Justin's condition. And then her gaze fell on us.

"Professor, I...I swear, we didn't. We literally just saw them like this when we came around a corner," I pleaded, shaking my head.

"This is out of my hands, Miss Potter," she told us. She led us to a statue of a stone gargoyle. "Professor Dumbledore will be waiting for the both of you," she said.

Harry and I stood by the gargoyle. For a few measly moments, nothing happened. _Where was Dumbledore?_

"Sherbet lemon," McGonagall suddenly said. She thrust both her hands out and then stairs formed, leading straight up.

I hurried up the stairs, Harry following close behind me. We came up to a set of highly-decorated double doors. _Looks like this is Dumbledore's office_. I pushed them open and we walked inside. Numerous portraits of what I guessed were former headmasters of Hogwarts lined the walls, but the people in them were asleep.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry called out. No one answered. Weird...

We advanced further into the room. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Sorting Hat on the top of one of the shelves. It came to life and seemed to glare at us. "Bee in your bonnet, Potter?" it asked.

"I-I was just wondering if you put me in the right house," Harry stuttered.

"Yes. You were particularly difficult to place. But I stand by what I said last year. You would have done well in Slytherin," the hat told him.

Harry shook his head slightly. "You're wrong..."

The hat glared at us once more before returning to its original inanimate position.

We made our way to Dumbledore's desk and we saw an aging red bird sitting on a wooden perch, with what looked like a round metal tray sitting right under it. The bird looked at us for a moment and seemed to smile. But then it burst into flames, the ashes falling onto the metal tray.

"Harry, Cassia," Dumbledore suddenly said. We turned around to see him on a balcony, looking down at us.

"P-Professor, sir...y-your bird. There was nothing we could do. He just caught fire!" Harry told him. I nodded in agreement, confirming his words.

"Ah, and about time, too. He's been looking dreadful for days. Pity you had to see him on a burning day," Dumbledore remarked. _What?_

"Burning day?" I repeated, confused.

Dumbledore came down the stairs to the balcony, and walked towards the perch where the bird once was. "Fawkes is a phoenix, Cassia. They burst into flame when it is time for them to die, and then they are reborn from the ashes," he explained. As if to confirm what he had just said, a little baby phoenix poked its head out from the ashes in the metal tray. It started making these cute cooing noises and I smiled. It was so adorable! "Ah...fascinating creatures, phoenixes," Dumbledore remarked. They can carry immensely heavy loads, and their...their tears have healing powers. And as I understand it, those tears are precisely what your wand's core is composed of, along with unicorn hair, my dear Cassia."

I nodded. "Yes. My wand has a hybrid core..." I said quietly.

All of a sudden, Hagrid burst in, holding a dead rooster by its feet. "Professor Dumbledore, sir, it wasn't Harry and Cass!" he said.

"Hagrid-" Dumbledore tried to stop him.

"In fact, I'd be prepared ter say it in front o' the Ministry o' Magic!" Hagrid said, not even listening.

"Hagrid, relax. I do not believe that Harry or Cassia attacked anyone," Dumbledore assured him.

"Oh course yeh don't. I-" Hagrid stopped. "Well, then, I'll, uh..." He cleared his throat. "I'll just wait outside, then." He left the room. Once he was out of earshot, we both looked at Dumbledore.

"You don't think it was us, Professor?" I asked.

"No, Cassia. I do not think it was either of you. But I must ask you, is there something you wish to tell me?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry and I shared a look. I couldn't speak, I was so surprised that he didn't think we caused these attacks.

"No, sir. Nothing," my brother answered for me.

"Very well, then. Off you go," Dumbledore said, dismissing us. Harry and I shared a sigh of relief once we were out the door. At least one of the teachers _actually_ believes we're innocent.

* * *

About two or three weeks later, the Christmas holidays were upon us. Most of the students were going home. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and myself were among the few who'd chosen to stay. We still had yet to execute our plan to question Malfoy and find out if he's the reason Muggle-horns are being Petrified.

Hermione came over to where Ron, Harry, and I were sitting together at the Gryffindor table. "Everything's set. We just need a bit of who we're changing into," she informed us.

"Crabbe and Goyle," Harry said.

She nodded. "But we also have to make sure that the real Crabbe and Goyle can't burst in on us while we're interrogating Malfoy," she added.

"I'm guessing you've got that covered," I assumed.

Hermione nodded again. She placed two cakes on the table. "I made these with a simple Sleeping Draught. Simple, but powerful. Now, once they're asleep, hide them in the broomstick cupboard and pull out a few of their hairs. And put on their uniforms," she instructed us.

Ron looked puzzled. "Whose hair are you ripping out, then?" he asked.

"I've already got mine," Hermione replied, holding up a small vial. "Millicent Bulstrode. Slytherin. I got this off her robes."

"Wait a minute, who's Cassia going as?" Harry asked, suddenly very confused.

I smirked. "Nobody - I'll be under Dad's old cloak."

"Smart," Ron commented.

Hermione stood up. "I'm going to go check on the Polyjuice Potion. Make sure that Crabbe and Goyle find these," she said, holding up the cakes for emphasis. She set them back down in front of us and practically speed-walked out of the Great Hall.


	26. Our next lead

**Cassia's POV  
**

After dinner, we walked out of the hall and set the cakes down. Then we hid behind a statue.

Ron took out his wand and cleared his throat, but before he could even utter a syllable, Harry and I both put a hand up to stop him. Two wand malfunctions was enough. We did _not_ need a third one.

"Uh...Ron, m-maybe I should do it," Harry suggested.

"Okay," Ron agreed, stepping back.

Harry did the swish-and-flick wrist movement we'd learned last year in Charms and muttered, " _Wingardium Leviosa._ " The cakes floated in midair.

Crabbe and Goyle, who had an armful of sweets each, took the cakes and bit into them. I rolled my eyes. Those two were such pigs- I didn't know who was worse, them or Ron. 10 seconds later, we heard a loud thud. Harry, Ron, and I looked over at Malfoy's two goons and saw they were out cold.

"How thick could you get?" Ron asked.

"Come on. Let's get 'em," Harry urged us. We dragged their bodies into a broomstick cupboard and pulled out their hairs. Then we made a break for Myrtle's bathroom.

Hermione looked up from the cauldron once she saw us. "Did you get the hairs?" she asked. In response, we held out the hairs.

"What are those?" Ron asked, pointing to a pile of robes right by our feet. The Invisibility Cloak lay very neatly folded on top of it all.

"Slytherin robes. I had to sneak them from the laundry," Hermione explained.

"Are we going to drink _that_?" Harry asked, pointing to the cauldron. The potion looked disgusting, to say the least.

Hermione nodded. "We'll have exactly an hour before we change back into ourselves." She ladled it out into three glasses. "Add the hairs," she instructed the boys. They complied.

Ron was trying so hard not to gag. "Eugh...essence of Crabbe."

"Cheers," Hermione sarcastically said.

The three of them clinked glasses and drank only one sip each. And apparently, that was all it took.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Ron muttered. He dropped his glass and ran into a cubicle.

"Me, too," Hermione followed suit.

Harry dropped his glass and clung to the sink. He started to metamorphose into Goyle. In a matter of seconds, he was completely transformed.

A cubicle door opened and out came Ron. His eyes went wide when he saw Harry. "Harry?"

"Ron," Harry breathed.

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered.

"You still sound like yourselves. Ron, you need to sound more like Crabbe," I told him.

"Uh...bloody hell," Ron said in a deeper voice.

"Much better," I remarked.

"Where's Hermione?" Harry asked.

"I...I don't think I'm going. You go on without me," Hermione stuttered. We looked over at the cubicles to see one of them was still occupied.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Harry asked.

"Just go. You're wasting time," Hermione urged.

She didn't have to tell us twice. I threw on the Invisibility Cloak and followed my brother and Ron out of the bathroom.

"I think the Slytherin common room's this way," Harry guessed, leading us down a random corridor. We wound up getting lost _very_ quickly.

"Excuse me," someone called out from behind us. I turned to see it was Percy.

"What are you do-" Ron started to ask before Harry nudged him in the ribs. He cleared his throat and asked, "I mean, what are _you_ doing down here?" in his Crabbe voice.

Percy didn't even flinch.

"I happen to be a school Prefect. You, on the other hand, have no business wandering around the corridors this time of night," he snapped. He narrowed his eyes at Harry and Ron. "What are your names again?"

Before either of them could answer, Malfoy appeared around the corner.

"Crabbe, Goyle, where've you two been? Pigging out in the Great Hall all this time?" he spat, coming over to us. He eyed Harry. "Why are you wearing glasses?"

Harry quickly put them away. "Uh...reading," he fibbed.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "Reading?" he repeated, "I didn't know you could read." When he looked over at Percy, I saw his gaze harden. "And what are you doing down here, Weasley?" he asked, with venom in every word.

"Mind your attitude, Malfoy," Percy warned Malfoy, standing his ground.

I followed Malfoy as he dragged Harry and Ron - by their ears - to the Slytherin Common room and sat down on the couch, propping his feet up. "Well, sit down," he said.

Harry and Ron obeyed, while I stood right behind the chairs they were sitting on.

"You'd never know the Weasleys were Purebloods, the way they behave. They're an embarrassment to the Wizarding World. All of them," Malfoy remarked. I could hear Ron's knuckles popping as his hands balled into fists. And apparently, Malfoy noticed as well. "What's wrong with you, Crabbe?" he asked, scrutinizingly.

Harry elbowed Ron, as if to say "Make something up." Ron unclenched his hands and cleared his throat. "Stomachache," he fibbed.

Malfoy looked suspicious, but he didn't question it. "You know, I'm surprised the Daily Prophet hasn't done a report on all these attacks," he ranted, "S'pose Dumbledore's trying to hush it all up. Father always said Dumbledore was the worst thing that happened to this school."

I bit my tongue to prevent myself from lashing out right then and there. But Harry just couldn't restrain himself. "You're wrong!" he basically shouted. I thanked my lucky stars that he didn't attract the attention of everyone in the Slytherin dormitories.

Malfoy shot straight up out of his seat. "What?!" he exclaimed, "You think there's someone here who's worse than Dumbledore?" He glared at Harry. "Well, do you?"

"Harry Potter," Harry choked out.

Malfoy looked at him silently, before a smirk formed on his face. "Good one, Goyle. You're absolutely right," he agreed. He rolled his eyes. "Saint Potter...His sister's even worse. She'll pay for embarrassing me, many times, if I may add. And people actually think that they're the heirs of Slytherin?" He shook his head. _Clearly, he doesn't believe the rumors either._

"You must have _some_ idea of who's behind it all," Harry pressed.

"You know I don't, Goyle. I told you yesterday," Malfoy denied. He crossed over to a side table and picked up a small package resting upon it. "How many times to I have to tell you?" he asked, shaking the package lightly before looking at Harry. "Is this yours?"

Harry shook his head in response.

Malfoy sat back down on the couch. "But my father did say this: It's been fifty years since the chamber was opened. He wouldn't tell me who opened it, only that they were expelled. The last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a Mudblood died," he told us, "So it's only a matter of time before another is killed this time. As for me, I hope it's Granger."

At this, Ron jumped out of his chair and Harry had to restrain him from trying to strangle or hex Malfoy.

"What's the matter with you two?" Malfoy asked. _Yep, he's getting suspicious now_. "You're acting very...odd."

"It's his stomachache," Harry lied. He faced Ron, putting his hands on his shoulders. "Calm down..."

Ron looked at him and his eyes widened. "S-Scar..." he whispered. I squinted to get a closer look, and I saw that Harry's scar was returning. _Oh, no!_

Harry's eyes widened as well. "Hair..." he whispered as he and I noticed Ron's hair was starting to turn red again. All three of us ran out of the common room as fast as our legs would go.

* * *

"That was close!" Ron panted once we'd reached Myrtle's bathroom.

I threw off the cloak. "No kidding! If you guys had stuck around for even a second longer, our cover would've been blown!"

"Hermione, come out! We've got loads to tell you," Harry called out.

"Go away!" Hermione snapped.

"Wait till you see. It's awful," I heard Myrtle snigger.

Harry slowly pushed open the door. "Hermione?" he asked.

"Do you remember me telling you, the Polyjuice Potion is only for human transformations? It was cat hair I plucked off Millicent Bulstrode's robes," Hermione said, turning to face us. That's when I noticed she had a cat's face, cat eyes, and a cat tail. "Look at my face..."

Harry just looked at her, shocked, while Myrtle laughed hysterically.

"Look at your tail," Ron joked, making me roll my eyes and smack him upside the head.

* * *

"Any more word from Hermione?" Ron asked. We were walking through the halls, heading back to the common room from dinner one night. Hermione had to go see Madam Pomfrey to get rid of her cat appearance, and let me tell you, coming up with an explanation that didn't reveal what we'd done? Not easy. I highly doubt she believed us saying that Hermione had been hexed accidentally. We were just lucky she didn't press the subject further.

"She should be out of the Hospital Wing in a few days...as soon as she stops coughing up furballs," Harry answered.

As soon as we rounded the corner, I saw a ton of water on the floor ahead of us. "What's this?" I asked. We ran down the hallway, looking for the source of the sudden flooding.

"Yuck!" Ron complained.

"Looks like Moaning Myrtle's flooded the bathroom," Harry guessed. We headed to the abandoned girls' lavatory. Sure enough, my brother was right; the floor was soaked, water pouring out nonstop from the sinks.

Myrtle was crying, but it sounded more like a moan. She stopped once she saw us come in. "C-Come t-to throw something else at me?" she stuttered.

"Why would we throw something at you?" Harry asked.

"Don't ask _me_ ," Myrtle replied, "Here I am, minding my own business, and someone thinks it's funny to throw a book at me."

"Well, it can't hurt if they threw it at you. I mean...it'll just go right through you," Ron commented.

"Ron!" I snapped, nudging him in the arm.

"So!" Myrtle snapped, whooshing over to us. She was very close to Ron now. "Let's all throw books at Myrtle, because she can't feel it?! Ten points if you get it through her stomach!" she snapped, punching Ron in the stomach. Her arm went right through Ron's gut. "Fifty points if it goes through her head!" she added, punching Ron in the head, only to have her hand go right through him.

"But...who threw it at you anyway?" Harry asked.

Myrtle calmed down immediately. "I don't know," she replied, "I didn't see them. I was just sitting in the U-bend, thinking about death...and it fell through the top of my head." She floated off, resuming her moaning.

That's when Harry and I noticed something on the floor. Harry went over and got it before walking back over to us. It was a black book.

We took it to the hospital wing, so Hermione could tell us more about it, since she's the smartest out of the four of us.

"Hermione, I think we have a new lead," I told her excitedly, handing the diary to her. We all gathered around her bed.

Hermione examined it. "There's a name in this diary. Tom...Marvolo...Riddle," she read the name aloud.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle?" Ron repeated. Hermione handed him the diary and he looked it over. "Hang on...I know that name," he told us, tapping one of the pages as he said it. "Where do I know that name?" He thought for a moment. "Of course! That night I had detention, my job was to polish the silver in the trophy room. I remember because I kept burping up slugs on Tom Riddle's trophy," he told us.

"What was the trophy for?" Harry asked.

"He won an award, fifty years ago...Special Services to the School or something," Ron answered. He handed the diary to Harry.

"Fifty years ago? Are you sure?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Ron said.

"Don't you remember what Malfoy told us? The last time the Chamber was opened was-" Hermione started.

"fifty years ago, but that means-" Harry interrupted, realizing something.

"-Tom Riddle was here, at Hogwarts, when it happened," I finished, "He must've been a student during those times."

"What if he wrote about what he saw? It's possible he knew where the Chamber was, how to open it, even what sort of creature lives in it. If so, whoever is behind these attacks wouldn't want this diary lying around. Would they?" Hermione jumped in.

"It's a brilliant theory, Hermione, but there's just one flaw. There's nothing written in this diary," Harry said, showing us blank page after blank page in the diary.

* * *

Later that night, in the common room, Harry and I flipped through the diary. It was STILL blank. Harry closed the diary and read the inscription on the bottom of the back cover, "Tom Marvolo Riddle." He opened the diary again and was about to write in it, before a drop of ink plopped onto the page. Instantly, it disappeared, making my eyes widen.

"Wow..." I whispered.

Harry wrote "My name is Harry Potter" and we both watched, amazed, as it slowly started to vanish. A new message appeared in its place: _Hello, Harry and Cassia Potter. My name is Tom Riddle._

My eyes widened even more. "How did he know we were both here?" I asked.

"I dunno. Maybe it was just instinct or something," Harry replied. He wrote 'Do you know anything about the Chamber of Secrets?'

Tom replied with a _Yes_.

This time, I wrote back. _Can you tell us?_

 _No._

I sighed in frustration but another message appeared. _But I can show you. Let me take you back fifty years ago._

The pages of the diary flipped until we were about halfway through the book. A date appeared on the upper right corner. June thirteenth. A glowing light emitted from the book, gradually growing bigger and bigger until it swallowed Harry and I up into the book. We were now at Hogwarts, the way it would have looked fifty years ago. Looking ahead, we saw an older boy standing on the stairs.

"Excuse me," Harry started, coming towards the person. "Can you tell me what's going on?" No response. Then something seemed to click in his mind. "Are you Tom Riddle? Hello? Can you hear me?" he pressed. Once again, no response.

I was about to say something, but then I remembered that this was a memory. Nobody would be able to see or hear us. The boy who Harry addressed as Tom looked kind of handsome, to be honest. Not that it mattered to me- I'm twelve, for crying out loud! He had black, wavy hair, pale skin, and piercing, dark brown eyes, and I guessed he was maybe between fifteen and sixteen years old. I could tell by the snake crest on his robes that he was a Slytherin.

Tom looked up to see some teachers carrying what looked like a body on a stretcher, covered with a white sheet. He turned his head to the left as the teachers rounded a corner with the stretcher. Harry and I caught a glimpse of a stiff, uncovered hand dangling from the stretcher.

"Riddle, come," we heard a familiar voice call.

Tom turned in the direction of the voice."Professor Dumbledore," he said. He made his way up the stairs, to where a much younger Dumbledore awaited him.

"Dumbledore?" Harry whispered.

"It definitely looks like him," I whispered back.

"It is not wise to wander around this late hour, Tom," Dumbledore admonished.

"Yes, sir. I suppose. I...I had to see for myself if the rumors were true," Tom replied.

"I'm afraid they are, Tom. They are true," Dumbledore said, in a grave tone.

"About the school as well? I don't have a home to go to. They wouldn't really close Hogwarts," Tom protested.

"I understand, Tom, but I'm afraid Headmaster Dippet may have no choice," Dumbledore told him.

"Sir, if it all stopped...if the person responsible was caught..." Tom started to say.

Dumbledore eyed him. "Is there something you wish to tell me?" he asked.

"No, sir. Nothing," Tom answered.

"Very well, then. Off you go," Dumbledore said.

Tom left, with Harry and I trailing close behind. Soon enough, Tom stopped at a door. He looked around to see if the coast was clear, and opened the door. Inside, there was a very tall young boy, bent over a trunk.

"Evening, Hagrid," Tom greeted, scaring the boy, who slammed the trunk shut and faced him. _So Hagrid and Tom were both students at Hogwarts fifty years ago._ "I'm going to have to turn you in. I know you never meant it to kill anyone, but-"

"You can't. You don't understand," Hagrid begged.

"The dead girl's parents will be here tomorrow. The least Hogwarts can do is make sure that thing that killed their daughter is slaughtered," Tom snapped.

"It wasn't him. Aragog never killed no one. Never!" Hagrid insisted.

"Monsters don't make good pets, Hagrid. Now stand aside," Tom ordered.

"No," Hagrid refused.

"Stand aside," Tom urged.

"No!" Hagrid refused a second time.

Tom waved his wand, using a spell Harry and I had never heard of before, " _Cistum Aperio_!" The crate behind Hagrid burst open, and a spider as big as Cricket scurried out, just as Tom cast another spell, " _Aranea Exumai_!"

"Aragog! Aragog!" Hagrid yelled.

Just as he was about to go after it, Tom blocked his way. "I can't let you go. They'll have your wand for this, Hagrid. You'll be expelled," he said.

Suddenly, I felt a tug, as if someone were pulling me from behind. I glanced at Harry to see he was experiencing the same thing. It didn't take me very long to process what was happening- Harry and I were being pulled away from the memory.

"Hagrid!" Harry yelled.

The door closed before we could see more.

"Hagrid!" both of us yelled as we were forced back out of the diary. Harry landed in his chair, while I landed on the floor, right net to him.

"Whoa," Harry and I said in unison. The memory had shown us that Hagrid, apparently, was also accused. Harry was now convinced that it was him, but I didn't think it was possible. This was all so confusing.

* * *

The next day, Harry, Ron, Hermione and I went for a walk around the school, after classes. Harry was explaining how we had ventured into the diary and seen a memory of the last time the chamber was opened. Hagrid's his new suspect. "It was Hagrid. Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago," he told us.

"It can't be Hagrid. It just...can't be," Hermione objected.

"We don't even know this Tom Riddle. He sounds like a dirty, rotten snitch to me," Ron added.

"The monster had killed somebody, Ron. What would any of us have done?" Harry asked.

"Look, Hagrid's our friend. Why don't we just go and ask him?" Hermione suggested.

"That'll be a cheerful visit," said Ron, "'Hello, Hagrid. Tell us, have you been setting anything mad and hairy loose in the castle lately?'"

"Mad n' hairy?" a familiar voice said from behind us. It was Hagrid. "You wouldn't be talkin' about me, now, would you?"

"No," we all said at once, facing him.

"What's that you've got there, Hagrid?" Harry asked.

"Oh, it's uh...flesh-eatin' slug repellent. Fer the Mandrakes, yeh know. Now, according to Professor Sprout, they've still got a bit o' growin' up to do. But once their acne's cleared up, we'll be able to chop 'em up and stew 'em, and then we'll get those people down at the hospital un-Petrified. In the meantime, you four had best be lookin' out fer yerselves," Hagrid explained. He walked away, saying a quick hello to Neville as he past him.

Neville rushed up to us "Harry, I don't know who did it, but you'd better come," he said, panting. He led us up to the Gryffindor dormitory that he shared with Harry and Ron. It was totally trashed.

"It had to be a Gryffindor. Nobody else knows our password. Unless it wasn't a student," Hermione informed us whilst Harry looked around for something.

"Whoever it was, they must've been looking for something," Ron noted.

"And they found it," Harry said, panting a little bit. "Tom Riddle's diary is gone."

I sighed, crossing my arms in frustration. _There goes our lead..._


	27. Follow the spiders

**Cassia's POV**

Today, we had a Quidditch game, Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff. Right now, we were listening to Wood talk us through our match strategy. "Alright, listen up. We play our game. Hufflepuff doesn't stand a chance. We're stronger, quicker, and smarter," he encouraged us. We all walked out of the tent and headed for the pitch.

"And not to mention they're dead scared that Harry and Cassia will Petrify them if they fly anywhere near them," Fred added.

Wood shrugged. "Well, that too."

McGonagall suddenly came up to us, stopping us from going onto the field.

"Professor McGonagall, what's going on?" I asked.

"This match has been cancelled," McGonagall informed us.

"Professor, you can't cancel Quidditch," Wood protested.

"Silence, Wood. You and your teammates will go to Gryffindor Tower," McGonagall ordered. Once Wood and the others were out of sight and earshot, she turned to Harry and I.  
"Potters, you and I will find Mr. Weasley. There's something the three of you have to see," she said.

We nodded and rushed to find Ron. Once we did, McGonagall led us to the hospital wing. "I warn you, this could be a wee bit of a shock," she admonished us as she led us to a bed in a far corner of the room.

I gasped once I saw who it was. "No..."

"Hermione?" Ron added.

"She was found near the library. Along with this," McGonagall held up a mirror. "Does it mean anything to any of you?" she asked.

We shook our heads.

McGonagall then walked out of the hospital wing, leaving Harry, Ron, and I alone with our best friend. I knew Hermione probably wouldn't be able to feel me, but I didn't care- I hugged her anyway.

* * *

Later on, we were all asked to return to Gryffindor Tower.

"Could I have your attention, please?" McGonagall called out. All eyes turned to her. "Because of recent events, these new rules will be put into effect immediately." She unrolled a scroll and read "All students will return to their house common rooms by six o'clock every evening. All students will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No exceptions." With that said and done, she rolled up her scroll. "I should tell you this. Unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught, it is likely the school will be closed," she told us. As soon as she left, everyone started whispering about the news.

My brother and I looked at Ron.

"We've got to talk to Hagrid. I can't believe it's him. If he did set the monster loose last time, he'll know how to get inside the chamber. And that's a start," Harry said.

"I think it's time to get our dad's old cloak out again," I told him.

* * *

Once everyone was asleep, l got out of bed, changed into some street clothes, and met up with Harry and Ron in the common room. Harry wrapped the cloak around us and we snuck down to Hagrid's hut. I knocked on the door and it opened abruptly.

"Who's there? Hello? Hello?" Hagrid called out. We took off the cloak. "Oh, it's you three. Come in," Hagrid let us in and made tea. When he poured some into Ron's cup, he was shaking and he overfilled the cup.

"Hagrid, are you alright?" I asked.

"I'm fine," Hagrid answered.

"Did you hear about Hermione?" Harry asked.

Hagrid nodded. "Oh, yeah, I heard about that, alright."

"Look, we've got to ask you something. Do you know who's opened the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry questioned.

"Now, look, what you have to understand about this is-" Fang's loud barking cut Hagrid off. "Quick, under the cloak! Under the cloak! Don't say a word, any of yeh!"

"Quick, under the cloak! Under the cloak! Don't say a word, any of yeh!"

We did as he said and slipped to a far corner of the hut, while Hagrid walked over to the door and opened it. "Professor Dumbledore, sir," he greeted. From where we were hiding, I could see Dumbledore and a shorter, middle-aged man.

"Good evening, Hagrid. I wonder...could we?" Dumbledore asked.

Hagrid let them both in.

"That's dad's boss. Cornelius Fudge. Minister of Magic," Ron whispered to us.

"Bad business, Hagrid. Very bad business. Had to come. Three attacks on Muggleborns. The Ministry's got to act," Fudge said.

"No, I never...You know I never-" Hagrid objected.

Dumbledore cut him off. "I want it understood, Cornelius, that Hagrid has my full confidence."

"Albus, look, Hagrid's record is against him. I've got to take him," Fudge insisted.

"Take me? Take me where? Not Azkaban prison," Hagrid protested.

Fudge had a solemn look on his face. "I'm afraid we have no choice," he said.

Before Hagrid or Dumbledore could argue further, there was another knock at the door, and then it opened to reveal Lucius Malfoy. "Already here, Fudge? Good," he said, walking into the hut.

"What're you doin' here? Get outta my house," Hagrid snapped.

"Believe me, I take absolutely no pleasure being inside your...you call this a house?" Lucius replied, "I simply called up the school and was told the headmaster was here."

"And what exactly is it that you want with me?" Dumbledore asked.

"The other governors and I have decided it is time for you to step aside," Lucius replied. He held out a scroll. "This is an order of suspension." He handed it to Dumbledore and added, "You'll find all twelve signatures on it. I'm afraid we feel as if you'd, rather, lost your touch."

"You can't take Professor Dumbledore away. Take him away and the Muggleborns won't stand a chance! You mark my words, there'll be killin's next!" Hagrid warned.

"Calm yourself, Hagrid. If the governors desire my removal, I will, of course, step aside," Dumbledore assured him. "However..." He walked up to Lucius. "...you will find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."

"Admiral sentiments," Lucius sarcastically remarked. "Shall we?" He turned to the Minister. "Fudge?" With that, he left, taking Dumbledore with him.

The Minister gave a small sigh. "Come, Hagrid," he said, glancing back at our half-giant friend.

"If, uh...if anybody was lookin' fer some stuff, then all they'd have to do would be to follow the spiders," Hagrid said, "Yep. That'd lead them right. All I have ter say." He started to follow Fudge. "Oh, and someone'll need to feed Fang while I'm away." The door shut behind them as they, too, left the hut.

When we were certain they were out of earshot, we took off the cloak.

"Hagrid's right. With Dumbledore gone, there'll be an attack a day," Ron remarked.

Harry and I looked over at the window. Numerous small spiders were crawling up the wall, and out one of the windows.

"Come on," I urged the boys, starting for the door.

"What?!" Ron exclaimed.

"You heard what Hagrid said, 'Follow the spiders'," Harry said.

"They're heading for the Dark Forest!" Ron whined.

Harry and I ignored him, taking two lanterns and following the direction of the spiders.

"Why spiders? Why couldn't it be follow the butterflies?" I heard Ron continue to complain, making me roll my eyes.

"Why can't you man up?" I asked, not even bothering to look behind me at Ron.

"Harry, Cassia, I don't like this. Guys, I don't like this at all," Ron whimpered as we ventured deeper and deeper into the forest. Harry only shushed him in response.

* * *

After what felt like hours of walking, we finally came to what appeared to be a spider hollow.

"Can we go back now?" Ron complained.

The miniscule spiders crawled into the hollow, and disappeared from our sights. For a few short moments, everything went quiet.

"Who is it?" we heard a deep voice hiss, breaking the silence. "Hagrid, is that you?" it asked.

"We're friends of Hagrid's," Harry answered.

I heard several loud thuds coming from right in front of us. Eight long, spindly legs appeared, and then a body, and then a face. It was a giant spider. Probably the biggest one I've ever seen in my life.

"You...you're Aragog, aren't you?" I asked.

"Yes. Hagrid has never sent men or women into our hollow before," Aragog replied.

"Up at the school, there's been attacks. They think it's Hagrid. They think he opened the Chamber of Secrets, like before," Harry told him.

"That's a lie! Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets!" Aragog snapped.

"Then you're not the monster?" I assumed.

"No. The monster was born in the castle," Aragog replied, "I came to Hagrid from a distant land, in the pocket of a traveler."

"Harry, Cassia," Ron whimpered, only for Harry to shush him in response.

"But if you're not the monster, then what did kill that girl fifty years ago?" I asked.

"We do not speak of it! It is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all others," Aragog answered.

"Have you seen it?" Harry asked.

"I never saw any part of the castle, but the box in which Hagrid kept me. The girl was discovered in a bathroom. When I was accused, Hagrid brought me here," Aragog explained.

"Guys..." Ron whimpered.

"What?" Harry and I snapped.

Ron only pointed skyward. I followed the direction of his hand and saw multiple spiders coming down towards us. They were _way_ bigger than the ones that led us to Aragog. Looking over at Harry, I saw him getting a bit nervous as well. Even I was starting to get scared.

"Well, thank you. W-We'll just...go," Harry stuttered.

"Go?" Aragog questioned, "I think not. My sons and daughters do not harm Hagrid, on my command. But I cannot deny them fresh meat when it wanders so willingly into our midst. Goodbye, friends of Hagrid." He disappeared into the hollow, leaving us to fend for ourselves against his...children.

"Can we panic now?" Ron whined.

A spider jumped down in front of us, and Harry immediately whacked it with the lantern. When another spider came at us, I did the same thing. But it wasn't enough. We were eventually surrounded on all sides, with the spiders all closing in on us, ready to attack.

"Know any spells?" Ron asked.

"I know one. But it's not powerful enough for all of them," Harry answered.

"Where's Hermione when you need her?" Ron asked.

Right before any of the spiders could make a move to bite us, we were momentarily blinded by a pair of bright lights. Some of the spiders were shoved aside as something hit them. To our surprise, it was the Ford Anglia. As curious as I was to know how it managed to find us, I knew we didn't have time to ponder over this. We had to get moving, or else we'd be spider chow. The three of us rushed over to the car.

" _Aranea Exumai_!" Harry yelled, aiming his wand at a spider as it tried to attack him while he was trying to open the front passenger's side door.

We got into the car and slammed the doors shut. In the few seconds it took Ron to get us moving, two spiders jumped onto the roof and hood of the car. Instead of going forward, the car was somehow stuck in reverse. Luckily, one of the spiders fell off the roof of the car.

"WHOAAAAA!" we all shouted as we flew over a small hill, before landing far away from Aragog's hollow. The other spider fell off the windshield, crashing to the ground.

"Glad we're out of there," Ron panted. Somehow, he managed to jinx it, because a spider appeared in the window and grabbed him with its pincers. Ron started screaming, trying to pry it off. I tried to help him, but the spider would _not_ let go. It seemed dead set on attacking Ron.

Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at the spider. " _Aranea Exumai_!" The force of the spell sent the spider flying backwards.

"Thanks," Ron panted.

"Don't mention it," Harry said. He was about to put his wand away when we noticed all the spiders crawling towards us. With every passing second, they got closer and closer.

"Get us out of here. Now!" I ordered.

Ron slammed his foot on the gas and we drove as fast as humanly possible.

"Come on! Come on, go faster!" Harry urged.

We drove, but the spiders were still following us. Ron tried slamming his foot on the gas, but the spiders kept up with the speed.

Things were not looking too good for us. I knew there was only one way to get them off our trail. "Get us in the air!" I ordered.

Ron tried to pull the lever that would make us airborn, but failed. "The flying gear's jammed!" he told us. He tried again.

"Go! Go!" Harry encouraged.

"I'm trying!" Ron yelled.

"Maybe we need to use extra force," I suggested. Taking my advice, Harry put a hand on the lever and started pulling, but it wouldn't budge. I grabbed hold of the lever and helped them try to pull it. It took us 3 tries, but the third time was the charm. The car lifted off the ground and we were in the air.

We landed once we got out of the forest, not too far away from Hagrid's hut.

"Follow the spiders? Follow the spiders?! If Hagrid ever gets out of Azkaban, I'll kill him!" Ron yelled, once we got out of the car.

The doors of the car slammed shut and then the now-wild vehicle sped off, back into the forest.

"I mean, what was the point of sending us in there? What have we found out?" Ron asked.

"We know one thing. Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets. He was innocent," Harry answered.

"So, that's four people we've ruled out," I added.

"Four?" Ron repeated.

"Yes, four. We know it's not Harry or I. Malfoy said he doesn't know anything, and Aragog told us Hagrid was innocent," I explained. So who's behind this?


	28. Into the chamber we go

**Cassia's POV**

The next day, Ron, Harry, and I all went to visit Hermione. The flowers by her bedside were all wilted, so I replaced them with fresh ones.

"Wish you were here, Hermione. We need you. Now, more than ever," Harry said to her. Both of us held her left hand while Ron sat at the foot of the bed.

Suddenly, I felt something papery right by her hand. I moved my own hand and saw it was a crumpled up piece of paper. Harry grabbed it and unfolded it. I looked over his shoulder as he read the writing on the paper. I soon realized that it was a page ripped out from a textbook, on a mythical beast called a Basilisk. We both turned to Ron.

"Ron, this is why Hermione was in the library the day she was attacked," I told him.

We all examined the page as we walked out of the hospital wing. "Of the many fearsome beasts that roam our land, none is more deadly than the basilisk. Capable of living for hundreds of years, instant death awaits any who meet this giant serpent's eye. Spiders flee before it..." Harry read out loud.

"Ron, this is it. The monster in the Chamber of Secret is a Basilisk," I said.

"That's why both of us can hear it speak. It's a snake!" Harry exclaimed as we stopped near a window.

"But if it kills by looking people in the eye, why is it no one's dead?" Ron asked.

I looked at my reflection in the glass. Soon, Harry's appeared right behind me.

"Because no one did look it in the eye," he answered.

"Not directly, at least," I added. We turned back to Ron.

"Collin saw it through his camera. And Justin- Justin must've seen the basilisk through Nearly Headless Nick. Nick got the full blast of it, but he's a ghost. He couldn't die again," Harry explained.

"And Hermione...she had the mirror," I jumped in, "That day in the library, she probably took that page out of the book and was using the mirror to look around corners, in case the Basilisk came along."

"What about Mrs. Norris? I'm pretty sure she didn't have a camera or a mirror," Ron objected.

Realization hit me. "The water...there was water on the floor that night. She only saw the basilisk's reflection," I said.

We took the paper over to a fire-lit column, so we could read it better.

"Spiders flee before it," Harry read, "It all fits!"

"But how's it been getting around? A dirty, great snake- _someone_ could've seen it," Ron commented.

"Hermione's answered that, too," Harry muttered, glancing at the paper.

I looked over his shoulder. Scrawled near the bottom of the page was the word _Pipes._ It was Hermione's handwriting, alright.

"Pipes? It's using the plumbing!" Ron exclaimed.

"Remember what Aragog said about that girl, fifty years ago? How she died in a bathroom?" I asked.

"Moaning Myrtle," Ron muttered, realizing something. It makes sense, since Myrtle's always haunting only one particular bathroom- the same one where we'd been brewing Polyjuice Potion a couple of months ago.

"All students are to return to their house dormitories at once. All teachers, report to the second-floor corridor immediately," we heard McGonagall announce.

We hid behind another column as the sound of approaching footsteps got louder and louder. Pretty soon, the staff was crowded around one of the walls.

"As you can see, the Heir of Slytherin has left another message. Our worst fear has been realized. A student has been taken by the monster, into the chamber itself," McGonagall said in shock. Her voice lowered a bit as she added, "The students must be sent home. I'm afraid this is the end of Hogwarts."

"So sorry, dozed off. What have I missed?" Lockhart asked as he approached, _clearly_ unaware of what had just happened. _And I thought Crabbe and Goyle were morons._

"A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart. Your moment of triumph has come at last," Snape replied.

"M-My moment?" Lockhart repeated, oblivious to the statement.

"You've been stating all along that you knew where the entrance to the Chamber was," Snape said.

"Then it's settled. We'll leave you to deal with the monster, Gilderoy," McGonagall conceded, "Your skills, after all, are legend."

Lockhart looked a little uneasy. "Very well. I'll just be in my office, getting, um...getting ready," He stated. With that, he walked off.

"Who is it that the monster has taken, Minerva?" Madam Pomfrey asked, bewildered. I wasn't ready to hear who it was. It's bad enough everyone thinks it was me or my brother that's responsible for this madness, but now another student could potentially be killed? This has gone much too far.

McGonagall sighed, her voice cracking slightly. "Ginny Weasley," she whispered, loud enough for us to hear. As the crowd of teachers parted, we saw the message: _Her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever_.

"Ginny," Ron muttered.

* * *

"Lockhart may be useless, but he's going to try and get into the chamber! At least we can tell him what we know!" Harry shouted as we raced to the DADA classroom and up the stairs to Lockhart's office. I pushed the door open.

"Professor! Professor, we have to ask you some-" Harry started, but cut himself off as we saw Lockhart frantically packing his things.

"Are you going somewhere?" I asked.

"Um...well, yes. Got to go. Urgent call, can't miss it," Lockhart stuttered, continuing to pack.

"What about my sister?" Ron asked.

"As to that, most unfortunate. No one regrets more than I," Lockhart apologized, continuing to pack in a frenzied manner.

"You're the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. You can't go now!" Ron protested.

"Well, I must say, when I took the job, there was nothing in the job description-" Lockhart fumbled, as he stuffed a wig into a clutch.

'You're running away? After all the stuff you did in your books?" Harry asked.

"Books can be misleading," Lockhart told us, holding the clutch under one arm.

"But you _wrote_ them!" Harry objected.

Lockhart slammed the clutch down. "My dear boy, use your common sense! My books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think _I'd_ done all those things," he shot back.

"You're a fraud. You've just been taking credit for what other wizards have done!" I accused. I _knew_ he was a phony!

"Is there anything you _can_ do?" Ron asked.

"Yes, now that you mention it. I'm rather gifted with Memory charms, otherwise, you see, all those wizards would've gone blabbing, and I'd have never sold another book. As a matter of fact, I'm, uh...going to have to do the same to you," Lockhart told us, grabbing his wand.

But before he could do any damage, we all pointed our wands at _him._

"Don't even think about it," I warned.

Lockhart put down his wand and we headed for the abandoned girl's lavatory, where we found Myrtle moaning, as usual. "Oh," Myrtle gasped once she saw us, "Hello Harry...Cassia. What do you want?"

"To ask you how you died," Harry replied.

"Oh...it was dreadful. It happened right here, in this very cubicle," Myrtle told us, pointing down at the stall she was hovering over. "I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. I was crying. And then I heard somebody come in."

"Who was it, Myrtle?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," Myrtle replied, "I was distraught! But they said something funny. A kind of made-up language, and I realized it was a boy speaking, so I unlocked the door to tell him to go away, and...I died."

"Just like that?" I asked, "How?"

"I just remember seeing a pair of great, big, yellow eyes, over there, by that sink," Myrtle answered, pointing to the sinks beside me. Harry and I walked over to the sink. Nothing happened when I turned on the water. There was a snake on the side of the pipe.

"This is it," Harry said, turning to the others. "This is it, Ron. I think this is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets."

"Harry, say something. Say something in Parseltongue," Ron encouraged.

Harry looked at the sink and hissed, the words unintelligible to the rest of us. The sinks pulled apart from each other, and the one closest to us slowly dropped down, revealing a gigantic pipe wide enough for a man to slide into.

"Excellent, Harry. Good work. Now, if you'll excuse me...there's no need for me to stay," Lockhart said, turning to go.

We all grabbed hold of him before he could make a run for it.

"Oh, yes there is!" Harry snapped.

We pushed him back. He now stood in front of the entrance, facing us. Ron, Harry, and I all pointed our wands at him, ready to hex him if he tried anything.

"You first," I hissed, venom dripping with every word.

Lockhart tried to reason with us. "Now, children, what good will it do?" he asked.

"Better you than us," Ron pointed out, not lowering his wand. Harry and I kept our wands pointed as well.

Our phony Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher turned to face the entrance of the chamber, but he looked back at us. "You sure you don't want to test it first?" As if to answer his question, we pushed him into the pipe. He landed with a soft THUD. "It's really quite filthy down here," he noted.

Harry and I looked at each other. "Let's go," we said at the same time.

We edged towards the pipe, but before we could make the jump, Myrtle interrupted us. "Oh, Harry, if you die down there, you and your sister are welcome to share my toilet," she offered, with a small giggle.

I wrinkled my nose. "Erm...thanks, Myrtle."

We all jumped into the pipe, first Harry, then me, and then Ron. The pipe was kind of like a roller coaster. A long, twisty, slimy roller coaster. Ron was screaming like a little girl the whole way down.

The ground we landed on was hard and spiky. Every step I took sounded like something crunching. When I looked down, I realized that the ground was covered in animal skeletons. Yuck!

"Now, remember- any sign of movement, close your eyes straightaway," Harry warned.


	29. Battle with the Basilisk

**Cassia's POV**

We made our way through another pipe, much bigger than the one we entered through. Looking up ahead, I could see what looked like the Basilisk, but when I got closer, I realized it was just the skin.

"What's that?" Ron asked.

"It looks like a...snake," Lockhart said.

"It's a snake skin," I corrected him, rolling my eyes at my teacher's stupidity.

"Bloody hell! Whatever shed this must be sixty feet long...or more," Ron noted, "or more."

We heard a THUMP behind us and turned to see Lockhart, passed out on the ground.

"Heart of a lion, this one," Ron remarked.

"Tell me about it," I muttered, crossing my arms.

Lockhart shot up, grabbing Ron's wand. "The adventure ends here, boys. But don't fret; the world will know our story. How I was too late to save the girl. How you three tragically lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body. So...you first, Miss Potter. Say goodbye...to your memories," he sneered.

Harry moved in front of me, protecting me.

"Obliviate!" Lockhart yelled. The spell blasted him into the ceiling and he fell to the ground, unconscious. Suddenly we heard some rocks falling, and Harry and I ducked for cover as the rocks fell.

"Harry! Harry, Cassia!" Ron shouted, once it stopped.

Harry scrambled over to the rock wall blocking us from Ron. "Ron! Ron, are you okay?" he yelled through an opening.

"I'm fine!" Ron answered.

I heard Lockhart groan. "Hello. Who are you?" he asked.

"Ron Weasley," Ron answered.

"Really? And, uh...who am I?" Lockhart questioned.

"Lockhart's Memory Charm backfired! He hasn't got a clue who he is!" Ron told us.

"That's because he used your wand, Ron!" I pointed out.

"Thanks for the obvious," Ron called back.

"It's an odd sort of place, isn't it? Do you live here?" Lockhart asked, tossing a rock in his hands.

"No," Ron replied, taking the rock from him.

"Really?" Lockhart said, just before he was clocked in the head with the rock.

"What'll I do now?" Ron asked.

"You wait here and try and shift some of this rock so we can get back through. We'll go on and find Ginny!" Harry told him. He turned to me and I nodded.

* * *

We eventually came to a round door with snakes carved into it. Harry spoke Parseltongue again, and the door opened. Literally, it was the shape of a pipe. We jumped out, onto the ground. There were snake-head statues lining the chamber, with a statue of a wizard's head at the far end. And near a pool of water at the base of the statue, was an unconscious Ginny.

"Ginny!" I exclaimed. Harry and I ran to her as fast as we could

"No...no, no, no, no, no. You can _not_ die on us," I pleaded, shaking her.

"Please don't be dead. Wake up. Wake up! Please wake up," Harry added, also shaking her.

"She won't wake," said a voice behind us. I turned around to see Riddle coming our way.

"Tom? Tom Riddle? What do you mean, she won't wake?" Harry asked, "She's not-"

"She's still alive, but only just," Riddle cut him off.

"Are you a ghost?" Harry asked.

Riddle shook his head. "A memory, preserved in a diary for fifty years," he corrected.

I felt her hand. "She's cold as ice," I reported, before continuing to shake her. "Ginny, please don't be dead. Please. Wake up." I lifted her slightly, putting her head in my lap and both of my hands on her shoulders.

"We've got to go, Tom. It's the Basilisk," Harry said.

"It won't come until it's called," Tom told us. I looked up at him to see he was now holding Harry's wand.

"Give me my wand, Tom," Harry demanded.

"You won't be needing it," Riddle refused.

"Listen, we've got to go. We've got to save her!" I begged.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Cassia. You see, as poor Ginny grows weaker...I grow stronger," Riddle said.

My eyes widened in realization. "No..." I muttered, refusing to believe it.

"Yes, Cassia. It was Ginny Weasley who opened the Chamber of Secrets," Tom confirmed my fears.

"No...she couldn't. She wouldn't," I protested.

"It was Ginny who set the Basilisk on the Mudbloods and Filch's cat, Ginny who wrote the frightening messages on the walls," Tom continued.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Because I told her to. You'll find I can be very...persuasive. Not that she knew what she was doing. She was, shall we say, in a sort of trance," Tom replied, "Still, the power of the diary began to scare her, and she tried to dispose of it in the girl's bathroom, and then...who should find it, but you. The very two people I was most anxious to meet."

"Why would you want to meet us?" I asked.

"I knew I had to talk to you. Meet you, if I could. So I decided to show you my capture of that brainless oaf Hagrid, to gain your trust," Riddle answered, starting to circle us.

"Hagrid's our friend! And you framed him, didn't you?" I pressed.

"It was my word against Hagrid's. Only Dumbledore seemed to think he was innocent," Tom retorted.

"I bet Dumbledore saw right through you," Harry countered, smirking.

"He certainly kept an annoyingly close watch on me afterward," Tom replied, continuing to walk around us. "I knew it wouldn't be safe to open the chamber again while I was still at school, so I decided to leave behind the diary, preserving my sixteen-year-old self in its pages, so that, one day, I would be able to lead another, to finish Salazaar Slytherin's noble work."

"Well, you haven't finished it yet. Just wait. In a few hours, the Mandrake Draught will be ready, and everyone who was Petrified will be all right again," Harry informed him.

"Haven't I told you? Killing Mudbloods doesn't matter to me anymore. For many months, now, my new target...has been you two," Tom told us. "How is it that two babies, with no extraordinary magical talent, were able to defeat the darkest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar-" he moved Harry's bangs back with his own wand and then pointing the wand at my forehead, "-while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"

"Why do you care how we escaped? Voldemort was _after_ your time," Harry snapped.

"Voldemort is my past, present, and future," Riddle corrected us. He wrote his full name in the air with Harry's wand. Then he waved his hand and the letters rearranged themselves to form the phrase 'I am Lord Voldemort'.

I gasped.

"You're the heir of Slytherin. You're Voldemort," Harry breathed.

Riddle glared at us. "Surely you didn't think I was going to keep my filthy Muggle father's name? No. I fashioned myself a new name, a name that wizards would, one day, fear to speak, when I became the greatest sorcerer in the world," he said.

"Albus Dumbledore is the greatest sorcerer in the world!" I snapped.

"Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me," Riddle shot back.

"He'll never be gone, not as long as those who remain are loyal to him," Harry retorted.

Tom was about to respond, but a loud screech interrupted him. We all turned towards the entrance of the room, where the sound had come from.

"Fawkes?" I breathed.

Fawkes was flying towards us, a brown bundle clutched in his talons. He dropped it into Harry's arms and flew upward.

"So this is what Dumbledore sends his great defenders, a songbird...and an old hat," said Tom. He turned towards the statue of Slytherin and thrust a hand out, hissing something in Parseltongue. Then he turned back to both of us. I could see Slytherin's mouth opening.  
"Let's match the power of Lord Voldemort, heir of Salazaar Slytherin, against the famous Harry and Cassia Potter," Tom said.

A loud hissing emitted from inside the statue and I saw the Basilisk start to poke its head out. Luckily, I couldn't see its eyes yet. They must've been closed.

"Run!" I shouted at Harry, throwing myself over Ginny to shield my eyes.

Harry turned around and sped off as fast as he possibly could.

Riddle hissed an order to the Basilisk. "Parseltongue won't save your brother now, Cassia. It only obeys me," he said to me.

The monster chased after Harry, looming over him when he slipped on the wet ground.  
Fawkes screeched and I looked up to see him clawing at the Basilisk's eyes. The Basilisk let out cries of pain. Blood dripped from its now-empty eye sockets.

"No! Your bird may have blinded the Basilisk, but it can still hear you," Riddle warned.

Harry got up as the Basilisk shook Fawkes off. He stepped back, but then the Basilisk faced him. Harry ran again, disappearing from sight. _Dear Merlin, Harry, please be okay..._

I turned my attention to Ginny. Her pulse was weakening. All because of that diary. I turned to Riddle, my grip on my wand tightening.

"How does it feel, Cassia? Knowing you're too late to save your friend's sister, knowing that you're just grasping at straws trying to defeat me?" he taunted me.

Rage seemed to consume me, also clouding my judgement. "You monster!" I charged at him. He pushed me back, but as I fell, I somehow managed to create a wall of fire in between us. I gasped. _Wow. That's new._

Riddle walked right through the fire, unharmed. "Interesting, Cassia. You've finally discovered your true powers," he noted, gazing me up and down. He turned to the flames behind him and used Harry's wand to make them disappear. Then he faced me again. "That same fire shines in your eyes. You certainly are destined for greatness. Just like your brother," he continued, venom dripping with every word he said, "Such a shame you won't live to see what else you are capable of."

In response, I threw a fireball at him. But he dodged it easily. That didn't stop me. I - literally - opened fire on him, trying to hold him off as long as I could, but every time I made a move, he was able to block it. My body was already aching after, what, 10 fire blasts? I was getting tired, and I knew it. There was no way I was going to win this fight. All I could do now was hope against hope that Harry was alright.

Riddle raised his wand at me, ready to either stun me or kill me, but the sound of running footsteps was enough to distract him. I looked around to see where it was coming from, and my heart leapt when I saw Harry running towards us. _Thank goodness!_ Harry reached us in a matter of seconds, and the two of us checked Ginny's vital signs. They were there, but they were _very_ faint.

"Yes, Potters. The process is nearly complete. In a few minutes, Ginny Weasley will be dead, and I will cease to be a memory. Lord Voldemort will return...very...much...alive," Riddle boasted.

"Ginny, please," I begged, trying once again to shake her awake.

The Basilisk shot out of the water, creating a massive splash in its wake. Just when I thought all was lost, I heard a glimmering sound coming from the Sorting Hat, and I saw the handle of a sword poking out.

"Harry, look!" I called out, pointing to the hat.

Harry followed my gaze to see the sword's handle. He grabbed the weapon and wielded it at the beast. He swung, but missed. I followed him as he climbed up the statue of Slytherin, the Basilisk trying (and failing) to ram us with its nose. Bits and pieces broke off, covering our robes with dust. To try and defend us, I shot fireballs at it with my hand, burning its skin in more than a few places.

We got up to the top of the statue and Harry attempted to swing at the monster again. On the third try, he lost his footing, dropping the sword in the process. It started to slide, but we both grabbed it just in time, because the Basilisk lunged at us. As it did, we stabbed the monster through the roof of its mouth. It emitted a loud screech of pain and pulled back.

I looked over at Harry and saw a fang in his arm. With my help, he pulled it out, leaving a large wound.

The Basilisk thrust its head from side to side, shrieking again as it sank closer to the ground. It hissed at us one last time and fell to the ground, dead.

I helped Harry get down from the statue of Slytherin, letting him hold onto me for support. When we got back to where Ginny lay, Harry dropped to his knees, the sword clattering to the ground beside us.

"Harry...Harry, stay with me. You're gonna be okay, I promise. I'll-" I tried to reassure him.

"Remarkable, isn't it, how quickly the venom of the Basilisk penetrates the body? I guess your brother has a little over a minute to live. He'll be with your dear Mudblood mother soon, Cassia," Riddle said, without a hint of emotion in his voice.

I checked Ginny. Her pulse was almost gone.

"Funny...the damage a silly little book can do, especially in the hands of a silly little girl," said Riddle. Harry took the diary and opened it up, raising the arm holding the fang above his head.

"What are you doing?" Riddle asked.

Harry glared at him.

"Stop! No!" Riddle shouted.

Harry stabbed the diary with the fang. Riddle's chest started to glow, in the spot where his heart should be, and he yelled in pain.

I grabbed Harry's hand as he stabbed the book again, and Riddle glowed more. It looked like the light was eating away at him. Harry closed the book and I helped him stab it with the fang one last time. The light continued to hurt Riddle until he just exploded in a shower of gold.

Ginny snapped awake and slowly sat up, panting.

"Ginny," Harry said, wincing at the pain in his arm.

"Harry, Cassia, it was me. I swear, I didn't mean to. Riddle made me. And..." Ginny started. Her eyes widened at the sight of Harry's wound. "Harry...you're hurt," she gasped.

"Don't worry about me. Ginny, you and Cassia need to get yourselves out. Follow the chamber, and you'll both find Ron," Harry said to us.

We heard screeching coming from above us, and I saw Fawkes coming our way. He landed right beside Harry.

"You were brilliant, Fawkes. I just wasn't quick enough," said Harry.

Fawkes started to cry on Harry's arm, and the tears went straight into the wound, healing it. The gash was gone in a matter of seconds.

"Of course! Phoenix tears have healing powers!" I exclaimed.

"Thanks," Harry thanked Fawkes, who nuzzled both of us in return. He turned to Ginny. "Don't worry, Ginny. It's over. It's just a memory," he assured her.

We made our way back to Lockhart and Ron. Harry had the idea to ride Fawkes out of the chamber. Fawkes sat on Lockhart's shoulders, Ron held onto him, Harry held onto Ron, I held onto Harry, and Ginny held onto me.

"Amazing! This is just like magic!" Lockhart exclaimed as Fawkes flew us out of that God-awful chamber.


	30. Harry & I free Dobby (End of 2nd Year)

**Cassia's POV**

Ginny was sent to the hospital wing, while Harry, Ron, and I were brought into Dumbledore's office.

"You realize, of course, that in the past few hours, you have broken, perhaps, a dozen school rules," Dumbledore told us.

"Yes, sir," all three of us muttered, bowing our heads.

"And there is sufficient evidence to have you all expelled," Dumbledore continued. "Therefore, it is only fitting that you both receive special awards for services to the school."

Our heads snapped up at this. _Is he serious? We're not getting punished?_

Dumbledore cracked a small smile at our reactions, before handing a bunch of papers to Ron. "Mr. Weasley, if you could have an owl deliver these release papers to Azkaban. I believe we want our gamekeeper back," he said.

Ron nodded and headed off to the Owlery. After he left, Dumbledore looked at Harry and I.

"Harry, Cassia, firstly, I want to thank you. You both must have shown me true loyalty down in the chamber. Only that could have called Fawkes to you," he told us.

We nodded.

"And second, I sense that something is troubling the both of you," he added, to which we both nodded again.

"You see, sir, I couldn't help but notice certain - certain similarities between...Tom Riddle and us," Harry replied.

"I noticed it, too," I agreed.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes. You can speak Parseltongue, Harry, because Lord Voldemort can speak Parseltongue."

"Yes, but how do you explain the fireballs shooting out of my hands?" I questioned.

"Cassia, you have the ability to bend fire at your command, because Lord Voldemort is capable of controlling the flames of the Fiendfyre Curse. If I am not mistaken, he transferred some of his powers to the both of you, the night he gave you those scars," Dumbledore explained.

"Voldemort transferred his powers...to us?" I repeated.

"Not intentionally, but yes," Dumbledore confirmed.

Harry had a look of realization on his face. "So the Sorting Hat was right. I _should_ be in Slytherin," he deduced.

"Yes. You possess many qualities that Voldemort himself prizes; determination, resourcefulness, and if I may say so, a certain disregard for the rules as well," Dumbledore informed him, "Why, then, did the Sorting Hat place you in Gryffindor?"

"Because Harry asked it to," I replied.

"Exactly. It is not our abilities that show who we are. It is our choices. If you want further proof why you belong in Gryffindor, I suggest the both of you look more closely at this," Dumbledore said, handing us the sword. There was an engraving on the blade.

" _Godric Gryffindor_ ," Harry and I read.

"Ah, it would take only a true Gryffindor to pull that out of the hat," Dumbledore remarked.

The doo suddenly flew open, and Lucius Malfoy stormed in. When I saw Dobby peering out from behind Lucius' leg, I was at a loss for words.

"Dobby! So _this_ is your master. The family you serve is the Malfoys!" Harry exclaimed, just as shocked as I was.

Dobby only whimpered in response.

"I'll deal with you later," Lucius muttered through clenched teeth. He faced Dumbledore. "So, it's true. You have returned."

"When the governors learned that Arthur Weasley's daughter was taken into the chamber, they saw fit to summon me back," Dumbledore explained.

"Ridiculous," Lucius muttered.

"Curiously, several of them were under the impression that you would curse their families if they did not agree to suspend me in the first place," Dumbledore added.

"How dare you! My sole concern has always been and will always be for the welfare of this school, and of course, its students." I thought he was going to lose it, but to my surprise, he calmed down fairly quickly. "The culprit has been identified, I presume?"

"Yes," Dumbledore replied.

"And? Who was it?" Lucius asked.

"Voldemort," Dumbledore answered, "Only, this time, he chose to act through somebody else, by means of this. And I hope no more of Lord Voldemort's things should fall into innocent hands."

"Well, let us hope that the Potter twins will always be around to save the day," Lucius remarked, glaring daggers at us.

"Don't worry," Harry assured.

"We _will_ be," I jumped in.

"Come, Dobby. We're leaving," Lucius snapped. He swung his cane, sending the poor house elf flying to the ground. As soon as Dobby got up, he was hit in the back with Lucius' cane, and the two of them left.

I felt really bad for Dobby. With such a cruel master, he seemed more like a prisoner than a servant. Yes, Harry and I didn't like how he tried to "protect" us, but at the same time, I hated seeing him suffer like that. _We have to do something_. I looked over at Harry, and I saw he seemed to be thinking the same thing.

He placed the sword on Dumbledore's desk. "Sir, I wonder if we could have that?" he asked, pointing at the diary. At that moment, I could see the wheels turning. He had an idea.

Dumbledore just nodded, and we left his office with Riddle's diary in hand. Harry quickly took off a shoe and removed one of his socks. He handed it to me, and I placed it into the diary. Then I helped him put his shoe back on, and we sprinted to catch up to Lucius.

"Mr. Malfoy! Mr. Malfoy!" Harry called, gaining both his attention _and_ Dobby's.

"We have something of yours," I said.

"Mine? I don't know what you're talking about," Lucius declared.

"Oh, we think you do, sir. My brother and I think you slipped this into Ginny Weasley's cauldron, that day in Diagon Alley," I retorted, holding up the diary.

"You do, do you?" he asked, shoving the diary at Dobby before leaning close to Harry and I. "Why don't you prove it?" he hissed.

The two of us didn't say a word in reply. All we did was just give him the nastiest glare either of us could muster.

Lucius stood straight up. "Come, Dobby," he ordered. He turned on his heel and began to walk away.

Dobby glanced at the diary, and then at us. His tennis ball-sized eyes were full of curiosity.

"Open it," I urged.

He cautiously opened the diary, and when he saw the sock, I saw he had mixed reactions. Surprise and joy. A smile formed on his face.

"Dobby," Lucius called out, turning back towards us.

"Master has given Dobby a sock," the house elf said.

"What? I didn't give-" Lucius started to protest, before Dobby cut him off.

The house elf looked at Lucius with a jovial expression. "Master has presented Dobby with clothes! Dobby is free!" he cried, making Lucius look over at us. Harry grinned and rolled up his left trouser leg, revealing a bare ankle underneath his shoe. I folded my arms and smirked.

"You lost me my SERVANT!" Lucius snapped. He pulled his wand out from inside his cane and started to advance toward us. I held my hands up, willing myself to create a wall of fire in between us and him, but nothing happened.

Dobby jumped in front of Harry and I. "You shall not harm Harry _or_ Cassia Potter," Dobby warned.

" _Avada_ -" Lucius was cut off by Dobby blasting him backwards with a spell. Dobby then pouted, also glaring at him the same way Harry and I had previously done.

Lucius got up and pointed a finger at us. "Your parents were meddlesome fools, too. Mark my words, Potters! One day soon, you are both going to meet the same sticky end!" he warned, before storming off.

"Harry and Cassia Potter freed Dobby! How can Dobby ever repay them?" Dobby asked.

"Just promise us something," Harry replied.

"Anything," Dobby said.

"Never try to save our lives again," I told him.

Dobby smiled at us and gave a slight nod.

* * *

Harry and I went back up to our dorms to change into clean robes, before heading to the Great Hall for the annual End-of-the-Year Feast. As we made our way to our usual seats with Ron at the Gryffindor Table, I felt someone gently grab my arm, stopping me. I turned to face the person, only to come face to face with Cedric.

"Cedric!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around him.

He chuckled, hugging me back. "I'm so glad you're okay, Cassi. I can't believe You-Know-Who was behind all this."

"I know. He was possessing Ginny," I replied.

"Is she okay?" he asked.

I nodded in response. "Yes she is, thank goodness."

"And I'm glad to see you and your brother are okay, as well," Cedric added, giving me another hug.

"Same here," I agreed, "Thank you, by the way."

Cedric raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

"For that get-well note you left me last year in the hospital wing, after the incident with Quirrell. And for defending my brother and I when everyone else thought we were the heirs of Slytherin," I explained.

At this, Cedric had a sheepish look on his face. "Well...you're my friend. It's what friends do," he stuttered.

I smiled at his response. Before I could continue our conversation, however, Hermione ran over to us and tackled me in a hug. "Cassia!" she cried, throwing her arms around me.

"Hermione! I'm so happy you're back!" I exclaimed.

She let go of me, smiling. "It's good to be back. And I can't believe you, Ron, and Harry solved this big mystery all by yourselves," she said.

"Well, we did have help from you," I pointed out.

Hermione grinned. "Harry said the same thing," she said, "Come on, you guys have got to fill me in on everything!" She started to pull me in the direction of the Gryffindor table.

"In a moment," I told her. She nodded, seeming to understand, and rushed back to Harry and Ron. "Sorry I have to cut our little reunion short," I apologized to Cedric.

He waved a hand in response. "No, don't worry about it. It's fine," he assured me.

"I promise I'll owl you over the summer," I said, "Cross my heart." To prove my point, I drew an 'x' over my heart with one finger.

"I'll write you, too," Cedric replied, crossing his heart in the same manner. We then went our separate ways, him to the Hufflepuff table, and me to my brother and my best friends.

"Sorry, guys. Cedric Diggory pulled me aside. He wanted to talk," I apologized.

Harry looked skeptical. "Cedric?" he questioned, making me giggle a bit.

"Relax, Harry. We're just friends," I assured him.

Soon, we heard McGonagall tap the side of her goblet, silencing the Great Hall. "Could I have your attention, please?" she called out.

Professor Dumbledore stood up. "First, let us have a round of applause for Madam Sprout and Madam Pomfrey, whose Mandrake juice has been so successfully administered to all who have been Petrified," he announced.

We all applauded to this.

"Also, in light of recent events, as a school treat, all exams have been cancelled," Dumbledore added. Everyone clapped again, but Hermione mouthed 'oh, no' at this news.

Suddenly, the doors to the Great Hall opened, revealing Hagrid. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized, walking in. "The owl delivering my release papers got all lost and confused. Some ruddy bird called Errol."

Ron's face went at least ten shades of red. I covered my mouth to stifle a laugh. So did Harry.

Hagrid stopped at our table, right in front of Harry and I."Harry, I uh...just want to say thanks. If it hadn't been for you an' Cass, and Ron, and Hermione, of course, I'd...well, I'd still be you-know-where," he told us.

Harry and I both stood up and looked at him with smiles on our faces.

"It's not Hogwarts without you, Hagrid," I said. We both hugged him. Dumbledore started clapping. So did the other teachers. Harry and I joined in. Then Ron and Hermione. Everyone else (except the Slytherins, of course) followed suit. Even Ginny. Some of the Gryffindors even cheered. Hagrid stood there, making a beckoning gesture with one hand, as if urging us to keep going. It went on for what felt like forever. We were all so happy to have Hagrid back.

 **End of Year 2**


	31. 3rd Year: Cassia Potter

Name: Cassia Helena Potter

Nicknames:  
Cass, Cassi (pronounced "Cassie")- everyone  
Sis, Baby sis, Little sis- Harry  
Female Potter, Sissy- Malfoy

Age: 13

House: Gryffindor

Family:  
Lily Potter (mother, Muggleborn- deceased)  
James Potter (father, pureblood- deceased)  
Vernon Dursley (uncle, Muggle)  
Petunia Dursley (maternal aunt, Muggle)  
Dudley Dursley (cousin, Muggle)  
Marge Dursley (aunt, Muggle)  
Edward Tonks (adoptive father; Muggleborn wizard, Metamorphagus)  
Andromeda Tonks (adoptive mother; pure blood witch)  
Nymphadora Tonks (adoptive sister; half blood witch, Metamorphagus)  
Sirius Black (godfather; pure blood wizard)  
Harry Potter (twin brother, half-blood; older by about 15 seconds)

Blood Status: Half-blood

Wand: Cedar, 11 inches, phoenix tears and phoenix feathers (hybrid core; rare, but extremely powerful nonetheless)

Patronus: You'll see...

Friends: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas, Weasley twins, Ginny Weasley, Cedric Diggory

Enemies: You-Know-Who, Draco Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, all other Slytherins

Special powers: She is an Elemental (can control fire), healing magic (because of her wand core), Capable of Legilimency to some extent (can sense when her twin is in pain and when enemies are nearby, doesn't know yet)

Hey, it's me again! I'm going into my third year at Hogwarts and I'm very excited! I think the past two years have changed me. But in a good way, of course, because I've bonded so much with Harry over those two years. He always tells me stories about our aunt and uncle, and how our cousin Dudley is a fat pig (haha!). In other news, Dora's done with her Auror training, and she visits us occasionally (she has her own house). Anyways, Ron and his family won a lottery in the _Daily Prophet_ , and the prize was a thousand Galleons. Most of the money they spent on a trip to Egypt, but they set some aside for later, particularly for buying Ron a new wand. Hope he doesn't have any more wand mishaps. Hermione's still trying to get ahead with her schoolwork, and as for Harry...well, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon are still giving him a hard time, no doubt. Hopefully we won't have any more chaos like our first two years at Hogwarts. But then again, we might. Trouble always manages to find Harry and I, whether we want it to (which we never do) or not. Wish I could talk more, but I've got to run- Andromeda's calling me to help her with dinner! Bye!


	32. Killer on the loose

**Cassia's POV**

Dora and I were staying at the Leaky Cauldron, along with Hermione and the Weasley's, for the last few days before we had to leave for Hogwarts. I'm so excited for third year! Nothing could ruin my good mood! Except...there's a criminal on the loose, by the name of Sirius Black. I don't know what he was locked up for, but I really don't want to find out!

The morning we were due to leave, Cricket and Crookshanks were chasing Scabbers. Hermione and I caught our pets, only to have to face an angry Ron less than a second later.

"I'm warning you two, keep those bloody beasts of yours away from Scabbers, or I'll turn them into tea cozies," Ron snapped at us.

"They're cats, Ronald. What do you expect?" Hermione retorted.

"It's in their nature," I added.

"Cats? Is that what they told you? Yours looks more like a pig with hair, if you ask me, Hermione," Ron shot back, glaring at Crookshanks.

"Oh, that's rich, coming from the owner of that smelly old shoebrush," Hermione retaliated, sending a glare right back at Scabbers. I speak for both of us when I say I _really_ hate that rat. "That's right, Crookshanks. You just ignore the mean little boy," she purred.

"Harry!" Ron suddenly exclaimed, looking up at something.

Hermione and I turned around and exclaimed, "Harry!" in unison.

Harry raced down the stairs he was on and gave us all hugs (and giving cricket a little pat on the head, of course). We took him to one of the tables in the dining area, and Ron showed us a clipping from the _Daily Prophet_ , with his family on the cover.

"Egypt? What's it like?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Brilliant. It's got loads of old stuff, like mummies, tombs. Even Scabbers enjoyed himself," Ron replied.

"You know, the Egyptians used to worship cats," Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, along with the dung beetle," Ron retorted.

I leaned closer to Harry and whispered in his ear, "Ron's mad at Hermione and I because our cats were chasing Scabbers again."

"Oh," Harry whispered back.

Fred and George walked by us, glancing at the paper. "Not flashing that clipping about again, are you, Ron?" George asked.

"No. I haven't shown anyone," Ron fibbed.

Fred rolled his eyes at that. "No, not a soul. Unless you count Tom," he sarcastically said.

"The day maid," George chimed in.

"The night maid."

"Cook."

"The bloke who fixed the toilets."

"And the wizard from Belgium." With that, they walked off to who knows where.

"Harry! Cassia!" Mrs. Weasley called out to us, coming over and giving each of us a motherly hug.

"Mrs. Weasley!" Harry greeted.

"Good to see you, dears," Mrs. Weasley returned the greeting, "Now, you both have everything you need?"

"Yes," I answered.

"Yeah," Harry added.

"Yes? All of your books?" Mrs. Weasley asked. We nodded. "And all of your clothes?" she asked.

"Everything's upstairs," Harry answered. I nodded in agreement.

Mrs. Weasley gave our cheeks a loving pinch. "Good children." She walked off, probably to help Ginny or keep the twins in check.

"Harry, Cassia," Mr. Weasley greeted, coming up to us.

"Mr. Weasley," Harry acknowledged as we both shook hands with him.

"Harry, Cassia, I wonder if I might have a word?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Of course," I replied.

Mr. Weasley led us away from the others, near one of the 'Employees only' zones. "Harry, Cassia, there are some within the Ministry who would strongly discourage me from divulging what I am about to reveal to you and Cassia. But I think you need to know the fact. You are in danger," he informed us. He put his hands on our shoulders. "Grave danger."

"Does this have anything to do with Sirius Black, sir?" Harry asked.

"What do you know about Sirius Black?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Only that he's escaped from Azkaban," Harry replied.

I nodded in agreement.

"Do you know why?" Mr. Weasley asked us.

We both shook our heads.

"Thirteen years ago, when you stopped..." Mr. Weasley started to explain.

"Voldemort," Harry and I both cut him off.

"Don't say his name," Mr. Weasley hissed.

"Sorry," we both apologized.

"When you stopped You-Know-Who, Black lost everything. But, to this day, he still remains a faithful servant. In his mind, you are the only thing that stands in the way of You-Know-Who returning to power. And that is why he has escaped from Azkaban. To find you," Mr. Weasley explained.

"And kill us," Harry assumed.

"Harry, I want you and Cassia to swear to me that no matter what you might hear, you won't go looking for Black," Mr. Weasley said.

"But, Mr. Weasley, why would either of us go looking for someone who wants to kill us?" I asked.

* * *

"I didn't mean to blow her up. I just sorta...lost control," Harry told us as we made our way down the train, looking for an empty compartment. He had just explained to us how he somehow managed to blow up our aunt Marge, with his anger. I pretty much cracked up when I heard this, until a sharp nudge in the ribs from Hermione told me to quit it.

"Brilliant," Ron complimented.

"Honestly, Ron, it's not funny. Harry's lucky he wasn't expelled," Hermione scolded him.

"I think I was lucky not to be arrested, actually," Harry corrected her.

"I still think it was brilliant," Ron remarked.

"Come on, everywhere else is full," I said, leading them into a compartment with a seemingly-asleep man.

"Who d'you reckon that is?" Ron asked, glancing at the man.

"Professor R.J Lupin," Hermione replied.

"You know everything! How is it she knows everything?" Ron complained, earning an eye roll and a huff from me.

"It's on his suitcase, Ron," I told him.

"D'you think he's really asleep?" Harry asked.

"Seems to be. Why?" Hermione replied.

"I've got to tell you something," Harry answered, "We both do." I closed the door to our compartment and sat in Harry's lap as he explained how Sirius Black wants to kill us.

"Let me get this straight: Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban to come after you two?" Ron asked.

I nodded.

"But they'll capture Black, won't they? I mean, everyone's looking for him," Hermione pointed out.

Ron shrugged. "Sure, except...no one's broken out of Azkaban before, and...he's a murderous, raving, lunatic," he commented.

"Thanks, Ron," Harry sarcastically replied.

I sighed. "Okay, I'm just...gonna go change." I grabbed my robes and made my way to the changing compartments. Just as I'd finished putting my Hogwarts uniform on, however, the train lurched and I fell to the ground. "What's going on?" I said to myself. I got out of the changing compartment and started to make my way back to the compartment when the train gave another lurch and I fell again.

One of the compartment doors opened. "Cassia?" a familiar voice called my name. When I looked in the direction of the voice, I saw Cedric making his way over to me.

"Cedric?" I asked.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. "What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"I came out here to change into my uniform because the conversation in my compartment got a little awkward," I explained.

"Why?" Cedric asked.

I leaned close and whispered into his ear, "We were talking about Sirius Black."

Cedric did a double-take. "Sirius Black?!" he echoed, making me slap a hand over his mouth.

"Cedric, what's the matter with you? Are you trying to attract a crowd?!" I whisper-yelled, before removing my hand from his mouth.

"Sorry," he apologized, "But why were you guys talking about him?"

I sighed. "Evidently, he broke out of Azkaban because of Harry and I, so he's trying to track us down."

"Wow...that's scary," Cedric said, growing very nervous.

"I know. It's giving me chills just thinking about it," I agreed.

Without warning, the lights in the train went out, one by one. Cedric and I were now in complete darkness.

Cedric pulled out his wand. "Lumos," he whispered. The tip of his wand lit up, sort of like a flashlight. He held my hand. "Come on, I'll walk you back to your compartment," he offered, taking my hand.

I could only in agreement. It wouldn't have been a good idea to try and go back by myself, especially in this darkness. We began the trek back to the compartment I'd been sharing with my brother and my two best friends, when the train lurched again, almost knocking us both to the ground.

"What was that?" I asked, clinging tighter to Cedric.

"I don't know," he replied, "But whatever it is, it can't be good."

The two of us continued to walk, until we finally found my compartment. But as soon as we got inside, I felt goosebumps forming on my arms. It started to get really cold, all of a sudden, to the point where even the window was frozen, and if I exhaled, I could see my breath. Cedric pulled me closer to him and wrapped his robe around me tightly, like a blanket.

Then the train lurched once more, scaring the daylights out of Ron. "Bloody hell! What's happening?!" he asked.

A dark, cloaked creature made its way to our compartment and opened the door without even touching it. I could feel myself growing sad inside. It was as though all the joy had been drained out of my body. The creature had no eyes or nose, only a mouth. Crookshanks and Cricket hissed when it turned in their direction, while Scabbers just scurried closer to Ron. The creature faced Harry and I, and I felt all my good memories being ripped out my brain. It was a painful feeling. I began to feel more and more depressed with every passing second that the creature fed on my brother and I. But then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Professor Lupin open his eyes and stand up, pointing his wand at the creature. A blindingly bright light shone from the tip, and I felt everything go black. The last thing I remember before losing consciousness is the sound of a female voice screaming.

* * *

"Cass...Cassi, wake up," I heard Cedric whisper, shaking me gently. When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was lying across the seat, with my head in his lap. When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was lying across the seat, with my head in his lap. I sat up slowly, putting a hand on his shoulder for support, and scooted over so that I was next to him instead of on him.

"Here, eat this. It'll help," Professor Lupin spoke, holding a brown square in front of me. I raised an eyebrow at him. "It's alright, it's chocolate," he assured me. I hesitantly reached out and took the chocolate. So did Harry.

"W-What was that thing...that came?" Harry asked.

"It was a Dementor, one of the guards of Azkaban. It's gone now. It was searching the train for Sirius Black," Professor Lupin explained, before getting up from his seat. "If you'll excuse me, I need to have a little word with the driver." He opened the compartment door, and then turned back to look at us. "Eat. You'll feel better," he encouraged us as he left.

Harry nibbled a bit of the chocolate and I could immediately see a wave of relief wash over him. "What happened?" he asked.

"Well, you sort of went rigid. We thought maybe you were having a fit or something," Ron replied.

"You fainted once you saw that monster, Cassia," Cedric added.

"And did any of you guys, you know, pass out?" Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head.

"No. I felt weird, though. Like I'd never be cheerful again," Ron answered.

"But someone was screaming. A woman," Harry said.

"I heard it too," I spoke up, before biting a small chunk of the chocolate.

Hermione eyed us. "No one was screaming, you guys," she said.

* * *

It was still pouring rain when we arrived at the Hogsmeade station. All five of us took the first carriage to Hogwarts, where we watched the Sorting Ceremony, followed by a performance from Flitwick's choir.

Dumbledore made his way up to the podium as the applause died down. "Welcome, welcome, to another year at Hogwarts!" he started, "Now, we have two changes in staff this year. First, I'm pleased to welcome Professor R.J. Lupin, who's kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Good luck, Professor!"

As we applauded, Professor Lupin stood up and gave a motion that was a mix between a nod and a bow before sitting back down.

"Of course, that's how he knew to give you the chocolate!" Hermione said to us.

"Potter...Potter!" an all-too-familiar voice whispered, forcing Harry and I to turn around. It was none other than Malfoy. _Ugh! Doesn't he have anything better to do than pick on us?_ "Is it true you and Sissy fainted?" he asked, as one of his goons pretended to faint. "I mean, you actually fainted?" he pressed. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Shove off, Malfoy," Ron butted in, turning Harry and I away, so that we were facing Hermione again.

"How'd he find out?" I asked.

"Just forget it," Hermione whispered.

We turned our attention back to Dumbledore's announcements. "...our Care of Magical Creatures professor for many years has decided to retire, in order to spend more time with his remaining limbs. Fortunately, I'm delighted to announce that his place will be taken by none other than our own Rubeus Hagrid," he announced.

Everyone - minus the Slytherins - erupted in applause and Hagrid stood up, acknowledging himself. The entire staff table shifted forward when he did. I could hear Seamus whistle through his teeth before the applause ceased.

"And finally, on a more serious note, Hogwarts will, until further notice, play host to the Dementors of Azkaban, until such a time as Sirius Black is captured," Dumbledore continued, "The Dementors will be stationed at every entrance to the grounds. Now, whilst I've been assured that their presence will not disrupt our day to day activities, a word of caution. Dementors are vicious creatures. They will not distinguish between the one they hunt and the one who gets in their way. Therefore, I must warn each and every one of you, give them no reason to harm you. It is not in the nature of a Dementor to be forgiving. But you know, happiness can be found even in the darkest of times..." He waved a hand over one of the candles near him. "...if one only remembers to turn on the light." He waved his hand again, and the candle was relit.

Not too long afterwards, we were dismissed to our dorms, but the Fat Lady wasn't even paying attention to us. Her focus was on trying to break a glass with her singing voice. She didn't even acknowledge Seamus when he said the password.

Seamus turned to Harry and I. "She won't let me in," he complained.

"Fortuna Major," Harry impatiently said.

"No, no, no. Wait, wait. Watch this," the Fat Lady objected. She sang really loud, and might I add, very badly! I clamped my hands over my ears, and so did some of my fellow Gryffindors. As she sang, she bashed the glass against a pillar in her portrait, breaking it. She gasped. "Amazing! Just with my voice!" she bragged, making me roll my eyes.

"Fortuna Major," I said at the same time as Harry.

"Yes, alright. Go in," the Fat Lady snapped, letting us in.

I heard her mutter an insult under her breath, but I ignored it as we walked into the common room and rushed up the stairs into our dorms.

Even though I was snuggled up under the covers, it was hard for me to fall asleep. The Dementor incident from earlier was still fresh in my mind, and so was Dumbledore's warning about them. Trouble was coming this year. I could feel it in my gut.


	33. Riding a Hippogriff

**Cassia's POV**

This morning, our first class was Divination. We all filed into the classroom and sat three to these miniature tea tables. Harry, Ron, and I sat together, of course.

"Welcome, my children. In this room, you shall explore the noble art of Divination. In this room, you shall discover if you possess the Sight," the professor explained. She stood up and bumped into a table in front of her, much to the class' amusement. "Hello. I am Professor Trelawney," she greeted, "Together, we shall cast ourselves into the future! But for this lesson, we will be focusing on Tessomancy, which is the art of reading tea leave, so please take the cup of the person sitting opposite you. But first, you must broaden your minds. First, you must look beyond."

"What a load of rubbish," I heard Hermione say suddenly, drawing our attention to her.

"Where'd _you_ come from?" Ron asked.

"Me? I've been here all this time," Hermione snapped. I raised an eyebrow at her. Somehow, I could tell she was lying.

Professor Trelawney instructed us to take a cup from the person sitting opposite us, and interpret what the tea leaves at the bottom of the cup represented. Harry got mine, Ron got Harry's, and I got Ron's.

"You, boy, is your grandmother quite well?" Professor Trelawney asked, looking at Neville.

"I-I-I think so," Neville replied.

"Give me the cup," Trelawney requested. He complied, and she looked into it. "Oh...pity," she muttered, placing the cup down. She walked around the room, reminding us to broaden our minds, but then she stopped suddenly when she saw Ron. "Oh! Your aura is pulsing, dear. Are you in the beyond? I think you are!" she exclaimed.

"Sure," Ron replied.

"Look at the cup. Tell me what you see," Trelawney urged him.

"Well, Harry's got sort of a wonky cross. That's trials and suffering. And...there-there could be the sun. That's happiness. So, uh, you're gonna suffer...but you're gonna be happy about it," Ron read, looking at his Divination book every few seconds to translate the meaning of the tea leaves in Harry's cup.

Trelawney made eye contact with Harry. "And your sister, boy?"

Harry examined my cup, squinting a little as he tried to get a good look at what the tea leaves meant. "Well...Cass has a heart. That's a symbol of love," he said, "But - but I can see it has cracks in it, and they're - they're mending. So..." He glanced at Ron's book. "...she's going to fall in love, and it'll be a struggle, but the love will last a long time."

"Give me the cups," Trelawney ordered. Harry and Ron handed them to her, but as soon as she looked inside, a look of pure shock crossed her face, and she almost dropped the cups. "Oh, my-my dears, you have...the Grim," she managed to say in between heavy gasps.

"The Grin? What's the Grin?" Seamus asked.

"Not the Grin, you idiot. The _Grim_ ," Dean corrected him.

"Taking form of a giant spectral dog. It's among the darkest omens in our world. It's an omen...of death." someone read from their book. Wait, does that mean Harry and I might die?! Oh my God, this is insane!

* * *

"Don't think that Grim thing's got anything to do with Sirius Black, do you?" Ron asked as we made our way down to Hagrid's hut for Care of Magical Creatures class.

"Oh, honestly, Ron. If you ask me, Divination's a very wooly discipline. Ancient Runes, _there's_ a fascinating subject," Hermione snapped.

fascinating subject," Hermione snapped.

Ron had a confused look on his face. "Ancient Runes? Exactly how many classes are you taking this term?" he questioned.

"A fair few," Hermione answered.

Ron paused. "Hang on. That's not possible. Ancient Runes is at the same time as Divination. You have to be in two classes at once," he objected.

Hermione scoffed in reply and said, "Don't be silly, Ron. How could anyone be in two classes at once?" She shook her head and walked ahead of us a little bit. "Broaden your minds...Use your inner eye to see the future!" she mocked Trelawney.

"Gather round, ev'ryone. Less talking, if you don't mind. I've got a real treat fer yeh today! A great lesson. Follow me," Hagrid said once we all got to his hut. He took us into the Forbidden Forest, and then stopped us at a small clearing surrounded by some trees. "Less chatter. Form a group over there, and open yer books to page forty-nine," he instructed us.

"Exactly how do we do that?" Malfoy snapped, earning an eye roll from yours truly.

"Yeh just stroke the spine, o'course," Hagrid said, clearly as annoyed as I was.

We all stroked the spines of our _Monster Book of Monsters_ books. Except Neville. He forgot that part, which resulted in his book attacking him.

"Don't be such a wimp, Longbottom," Malfoy taunted him.

"I'm okay. I'm okay," Neville panted, just before his book attacked him again. After a while, the book finally stopped acting crazy, allowing Neville to pick it up and close it..

"You're supposed to _stroke_ it," Ron said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Right," Neville panted.

"I think they're funny," Hermione sarcastically remarked.

"Oh, yeah. Terribly funny. God, this place is going to the dogs. Wait until my father hears we have this oaf teaching classes," Malfoy commented. Some of his goons laughed.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry and I both snapped, walking over to him.

Malfoy and the other Slytherins "ooh"ed at our remark. Then he threw his bag at Goyle and sauntered up to us. His usual cocky expression suddenly turned into one of terror. "D-Dementor! Dementor!" he shouted, pointing to the sky. We turned to look, and I heard a barrage of laughter from the Slytherins. When we looked back at them, I saw that Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had put their hoods up and were making noises to imitate the Dementors. I would've hexed him into oblivion if Hermione hadn't pulled us back to where she and Ron had been standing in the group. _I swear, that boy is getting on my last nerve!_

Hagrid cleared his throat to gain our attention. "Da-da-da-daaaah!" he sang, gesturing to a creature as it made its way into the clearing. It was grey all over, and it looked like it was half-bird, half-horse. "Isn't he beautiful? Say hello to Buckbeak!" Hagrid said, tossing the creature a dead fur-covered animal that I couldn't identify.

"Hagrid, exactly what is that?" Ron asked.

"That, Ron, is a Hippogriff," Hagrid answered, gesturing to Buckbeak. "Now, first thing yeh wanna know about Hippogriffs is that they're very proud creatures. Very easily offended. You do not want to insult a Hippogriff. It may just be the last thing you ever do," he warned us, "Now, who'd like to come up here an' say hello?"

Everyone else stepped back except Harry and I.

Hagrid took this as us volunteering. "Well done, Harry, Cassia. Well done," he said. He beckoned us to step closer to the Hippogriff. "Now, yeh have to let him make the first move. It's only polite. So step up, give 'im a nice bow. If he bows back, you can go an' touch 'im. If not...well, we'll get to that later," he instructed.

Harry and I stopped a few feet away from Buckbeak.

"Go on. Make yer bow. Both of yeh," Hagrid urged us.

We bowed. Buckbeak eyed us for a moment and cawed loudly, flapping his wings.

"Back off, you two. Back off!" Hagrid whispered.

We started to back up (still bowing, of course), but Harry stepped on a twig by accident. I grasped his hand tightly, afraid of what this creature would do to us. One wrong move, and we'd be in _big_ trouble.

"Keep still. Keep still," Hagrid urged us.

I took a quick glance up at Buckbeak. Buckbeak cocked his head slightly, and then bowed. "Wow," I whispered.

"Well done, you two. Well done," said Hagrid. He threw another furry thing at Buckbeak, who swallowed it. "Think you can go and pet him now."

I heard someone shoving others aside so they could watch us. Probably Malfoy. _No surprise there._ Harry and I slowly stretched out one arm and made our way closer to Buckbeak, a little bit too fast. Buckbeak snapped at us.

"Not so fast. Nice and slow," Hagrid instructed us. We slowed down. "Now let him come to you." Both of us stopped.

Buckbeak slowly came closer and let us stroke his beak, first Harry, and then me.

"That's it...Well done. Oh, well done, you two! Well done!" Hagrid praised. Everyone else applauded for us. Except Malfoy, of course, but who cares?

"I think he may let yeh ride 'im now," I heard Hagrid say after the applause died down.

"What?" Harry and I said at the same time.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Hagrid!" Harry protested as Hagrid picked him up and plopped him on Buckbeak's back.

"Hagrid, put me down!" I added as Hagrid picked me up and placed me right behind Harry.

"Don't pull out any of his feathers, 'cause he won't thank you for that," Hagrid warned us. He slapped Buckbeak on the back, who reared up and then broke into a running start before becoming airborne.

"Whoaaaa!" Harry exclaimed.

I held onto my brother for dear life as we flew over the school. Buckbeak cawed quite loudly- I guess he was happy that he finally got to go up in the air. I felt my adrenaline rushing when I took a peek at the ground below. Yes, it was scary, but at the same time, it was really exciting. I can't even tell you how amazing it is, riding a Hippogriff. It was even more incredible than flying on a broom. Buckbeak flew lower until his talons just grazed the water. I saw Harry let go of Buckbeak's neck and slowly hold his arms out like a plane, until they were parallel with the Hippogriff's wings. "Wahoo! Waaaaahoo!" he cheered.

"Having fun there, Harry?" I said, enjoying the feeling of the wind blowing through my hair, which was in a fishtail braid.

"Yeah!" he exclaimed.

"That makes two of us!" I agreed.

Buckbeak suddenly flew back up, away from the lake, making Harry and I cling to him to steady ourselves. We soared back over the school, and over the Forbidden Forest, and then landed in the clearing.

Hagrid came over and helped us dismount the Hippogriff. "Well done, Harry and Cassia! And well done, Buckbeak!" he praised.

Everyone applauded for us, while Malfoy looked annoyed.

Hagrid leaned close to us. "How'm I doin' me first day?" he whispered.

"Brilliant, 'Professor'," Harry replied. I nodded in agreement, giving a cheerful smile. Our response made Hagrid playfully roll his eyes at us, probably because Harry had called him "Professor".

Malfoy strutted right up to Buckbeak. Idiot, he didn't even bow! "Yeah, you're not dangerous at all, are ya, you great ugly-" he was cut off by Buckbeak rearing up and scratching him on the arm, making him fall backwards onto the ground.

Hagrid rushed over and put his hands up, trying to calm Buckbeak down.  
"Whoa! Whoa! Buckbeak!" he scolded. He threw a dead ferret off and Buckbeak went to get it. "Away, yeh silly creature..." I heard Hagrid mutter.

"Oh, it's killed me! It's killed me!" Malfoy whined. _And I thought Ron was a wimp._

"Calm down. It's just a scratch!" Hagrid tried to calm Malfoy.

"Hagrid! He has to be taken to the hospital!" Hermione exclaimed, coming up to Hagrid.

"I'm the teacher. I'll do it," Hagrid said. He scooped Malfoy up and started to walk away.

"You're gonna regret this. You and your bloody chicken!" Malfoy protested.

"Class dismissed!" Hagrid called over his shoulder as he walked away with Malfoy in his arms.

Buckbeak suddenly nudged me, and then I petted him. Harry was nudged next, and he did the same thing as me. Guess Buckbeak just wanted some attention.

"Can't say I blame you, Buckbeak. That white-haired git had it coming," I said to Buckbeak as we stroked his feathers.


	34. My first glimpse of a Boggart

**Cassia's POV**

The next day, we had a free period first thing in the morning, so all four of us (Me, Harry, Hermione, and Ron) went into the Great Hall to study. Unfortunately, the table we chose was the one right next to where Malfoy was sitting, and we had to listen to him rambling on and on about him supposedly 'almost losing his arm'.

"Look at him. He's really laying it on thick, isn't he?" Ron asked.

"That's an understatement. He's such a drama queen!" I jumped in.

"Yeah. Well, at least Hagrid didn't get fired," Harry pointed out.

"Thank Merlin," I agreed.

"Yeah, but I hear Draco's father is furious. We haven't heard the end of this," Hermione warned us.

Cedric came over to us. "Hey, Cassia," he greeted me.

"Hi, Cedric," I returned the greeting. But then I remembered Harry, Ron, and Hermione hadn't met him before, so I introduced them. "Cedric, you know my brother Harry. These are our friends Ron and Hermione," I said, gesturing to the other three members of our 'Golden Quartet'. Cedric waved to them and shook each of their hands.

"Hello," Hermione said.

"Hi. Nice to meet you," Harry added.

"Hey," Ron jumped in.

"So what's going on?" Cedric asked.

"Well, Malfoy's complaining about something that happened in Care of Magical Creatures class yesterday- Hagrid brought in a Hippogriff and then Malfoy, being the idiot that he is, decided to provoke it. And then it attacked him and now Malfoy keeps saying that it almost took his arm off," I explained.

"I never liked the Malfoys. Neither does my dad. He told me they're bad news," Cedric admitted.

Ron grinned at this. "Well, he's right," he agreed.

"He's been sighted! He's been sighted!" we heard Seamus exclaim. He set a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ in front of us.

"Who?" Dean asked.

"Sirius Black!" Seamus replied. Everyone at the Gryffindor table - the five of us included - gathered around him to read the paper. Apparently, Sirius had been spotted in Dufftown.

"Dufftown? That's not far from here," Hermione remarked.

"You don't think he could get into Hogwarts, do you?" Neville asked.

"With Dementors at every entrance?" Dean added.

"Dementors? He's already slipped past them once. Who's to say he won't do it again?" Seamus pointed out

"That's right. Black could be anywhere. It's like trying to catch smoke. Like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands," another boy jumped in.

Harry and I stared at the mad man in the moving photograph. He looked so scary. And the fact that he was after Harry and I made him even scarier.

* * *

Defense Against the Dark Arts was our last class of the day. Professor Lupin had us put our things in the back of the room. Looks like today's a hands-on lesson. Fun! We all stood in front of a wardrobe that rattled every once in a while, making some of the other students flinch.

"Intriguing, isn't it? Would anyone like to venture a guess as to what is inside?" Professor Lupin asked, walking slowly around the room.

"That's a Boggart, that is," Dean answered, without raising his hand.

Professo Lupin nodded. "Very good, Mr. Thomas," he praised, "Now, does anyone know what a Boggart looks like?"

"No one knows," Hermione blurted out, making us all turn to look at her.

"When did _she_ get here?" Ron asked.

"Boggarts are shape-shifters. They take the shape of whatever a particular person fears the most. That's what makes them so-" Hermione continued.

"-so terrifying, yes," Lupin finished her sentence as the wardrobe rattled again. "Luckily, a very simple charm exists to repel a Boggart. Let's practice it now." We all started to reach in our robes for our wands, but Lupin stopped us. "Without wands, please. Now, after me: Riddikulus," he instructed us.

"Riddikulus," we all repeated.

"Very good. A little louder, and _very_ clear," Lupin corrected us, "Listen: Riddikulus."

"Riddikulus!" we all repeated, enunciating better this time.

"This class is ridiculous," I heard Malfoy mutter, making me roll my eyes once again.

Lupin nodded once again. "Very good. Now, the incantation alone is not enough. What really finishes a Boggart is laughter. You need to force it to assume a shape you find truly amusing," he explained. "Neville, would you join me, please?" He stretched an arm out, beckoning Neville to come up.

Neville obeyed.

"Now, what frightens you most of all?" Lupin asked.

Neville muttered something so quiet that it was unintelligible to anyone in the room.

"Sorry?" Lupin questioned, beckoning him to speak up.

"Professor Snape," Neville spoke up. The whole class broke into laughter at his answer.

Even Lupin couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Professor Snape...ah, yes. Frightens all," he agreed, "And I believe you live with your grandmother."

"Yes, but I don't want that Boggart to turn into her, either," Neville replied.

"No," Lupin assured him as the wardrobe rattled again. "It won't. I want you to picture her clothes. Only her clothes. Very clearly, in your mind."

"She carries a red handbag," Neville started to say.

Lupin put a hand up to stop him. "We don't need to hear it. As long as you see it, we'll see it. Now, when I opened that wardrobe, here's what I want you to do," he instructed. He came around to Neville's other side and whispered something in his ear. "Can you do that?" he asked.

Neville nodded.

"Wand at the ready. One...two...three," Lupin said, pointing his wand at the wardrobe.

Instantly, the knob turned and Professor Snape came out.

"Think, Neville. Think," Lupin urged. Snape started walking towards us.

" _Riddikulus_!" Neville said, pointing his wand at the Boggart.

Boggart Snape's black robes changed into a very bizarre outfit. The room erupted with laughter at the Boggart, which was now wearing an outrageous outfit, complete with the red handbag Neville mentioned and a hat adorned with a gigantic bird. I was laughing so hard that I had to lean onto Harry for support.

"Wonderful, Neville! Wonderful!" Lupin praised, laughing hysterically. "Everyone form a line. I want everyone to picture the thing they fear the very most, and turn it into something funny," he instructed, "Next! Ron!"

We all formed a line, with some of us pushing and shoving (*cough* Malfoy *cough*). Some loud music started playing, and Ron stepped up.

"Two Galleons says it's a spider," I whispered to Harry.

"You're on," he whispered back. We shook hands.

"Concentrate. Face your fear. Be brave," Lupin encouraged.

The Boggart morphed into a spider, making Ron whimper in fear.

Harry sighed and handed me my two Galleons. "You win," he huffed.

I shrugged. "Call it intuition..."

"Wand at the ready, Ron. Wand at the ready," Lupin instructed.

Ron pointed his wand at the spider and said, " _Riddikulus_!"

Roller skates suddenly appeared on the spider's feet. It kept trying to stand up, but failing, striking up another round of laughter from everyone in the room. Ron then made his way to the back of the line, giving Harry and I each a high-five on his way.

Next up was Parvati Patil.

"Show us what you see," Lupin said.

The boggart morphed into a giant snake. Brought back some memories...like helping Harry kill the Basilisk last year.

" _Riddikulus_!" Parvati shouted.

The snake turned into a jack-in-the-box. Everyone laughed at the Boggart once again. Class: 3, Boggarts: Zip.

Now it was Harry's turn. He stepped up. At first, I thought it was going to be either You-Know-Who or me dying, or something. But to my surprise, it turned into a Dementor.

Suddenly, Lupin jumped in front of Harry. "HERE!" he shouted.

The boggart turned into a full moon. Wait, a full moon? That doesn't make any sense.

 _"Riddikulus_!" Lupin said, pointing his wand at the boggart, which turned into a rapidly deflating white balloon. He directed the balloon around the room once and then back into the wardrobe, the door magically shutting behind it. "Sorry. That's all for today. If you would all collect your books at the back of the class. Thank you. That's all for today," Lupin apologized.

We all walked out of the classroom, some a little more disappointed than others.

"Are you okay?" I asked Harry as we linked arms.

"Yeah. I'm fine, Cass. Just a little shaken," he replied. He stayed kind of quiet for the rest of the evening, especially at dinner. Maybe the Dementors still scared him. And why did Lupin stop him from repelling the Boggart? I pondered this as we went up to our dorms to sleep.


	35. Hogwarts on lockdown

**Cassia's POV**

Today was the first Hogsmeade weekend, and I was so excited. I was going to spend half the day with Ron and Hermione, and then Cedric and I would hang out afterward. Sadly, Uncle Vernon hadn't signed Harry's permission form, so now he was dragging me to McGonagall to see if she could sign it.

"Harry, she's a teacher. It won't work," I told him as we raced into the courtyard.

"It doesn't hurt to try," he insisted.

"Now, remember, these visits to Hogsmeade village are a privilege. Should your behavior reflect poorly on the school, that privilege shall not be extended again," McGonagall reminded us. We walked up to her, and she accepted my form, but she wouldn't take Harry's. "No permission forms signed, no visiting the village. That's the rule, Mr. Potter," she had said.

Harry frowned.

"All those with permission, follow me. Those without, stay put," Filch called out, taking the permission slips under one arm and beckoning us to follow him with his free hand.

"But, Professor, I thought if you signed it, then I could go," Harry persisted.

"I can't. Only a parent or a guardian can sign. Since I am neither, it would be inappropriate," McGonagall told us. She turned to go, but then faced us one last time. "I'm sorry, Mr. Potter. That's my final word."

"Forget it, guys. See you later," Harry said to Hermione and Ron. They looked back at us and sent him a sorry look.

"Come on," Hermione said, urging me to go with her and Ron.

Now I was kind of torn. I wanted to go, but I didn't want to leave Harry behind. And then I thought, _Oh, it's fine. Missing one trip won't hurt. There's always next weekend_. "Guys, I think I'm going to sit this one out," I called out to Ron and Hermione.

They looked confused at first, but then a look of understanding appeared on both of their faces, and they set off after Filch.

I had to really search the crowd to find Cedric. Hopefully, he'd understand me breaking our hangout date. Soon enough, I found him. I ran up to Cedric and whispered, "Do you mind if I stay with Harry? Uncle Vernon didn't sign his form."

Cedric immediately nodded."It's alright, Cass. I'll see you later. How 'bout you and I hang out later on?" he offered.

I nodded eagerly. "Thanks, Ceddy!" I kissed his cheek, making his cheeks turn bright red. Although, I could feel myself blushing as well. Okay, I'm starting to have a crush on Cedric. I shook it off and then rushed off to find Harry.

Harry was surprised when he saw me coming over to him. "You're not going?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I'm staying with you. Ron, Hermione, and Cedric understood."

"But you've been looking forward to this all week," he objected.

"Nothing is more important to me than my family. And you, my dear twin, are no exception," I said. I booped him on the nose, earning a chuckle from him.

* * *

We went for a walk around the school, but Harry stopped me when he caught sight of Professor Lupin on the bridge outside. He practically pulled me to him. "Professor, can I ask you something?" he asked.

Lupin seemed to immediately know what he was about to ask."You want to know why I stopped you facing that Boggarts, yes? I would have thought it would be obvious. I assumed it would take the shape of Lord Voldemort," he replied.

"I did think of Voldemort...at first. But then, I remembered that night on the train...and the Dementor," Harry explained.

"Well, I am very impressed. That suggests what you fear the most is fear itself. That is very wise," Lupin remarked.

"Before I fainted, I heard something. A woman...screaming," Harry said.

"I heard it as well," I added.

"Dementors force us to relive our very worst memories. Our pain becomes their power," Lupin told us.

"I think it was our mother. The night she was murdered," Harry guessed.

"You know, the very first time I saw you, Harry, Cassia, I recognized you both immediately. Not by your scars, by your eyes. They're your mother, Lily's," Lupin remarked, "Yes. Oh, yes, I knew her. Your mother was there for me at a time when no one else was. Not only was she a singularly gifted witch; she was also an uncommonly kind woman. She had a way of seeing the beauty in others, even - and perhaps, most especially - when they could not see it themselves. Your father, James, on the other hand...he had a certain, shall we say, talent for trouble. A talent, rumor has it, he passed on to you two. You're more like them than you know. In time, you'll realize just how much." He smiled at us.

I leaned my head on Harry's shoulder and we stared out at the clouds.

* * *

A little while later, everyone else came back from Hogsmeade and after dinner, Ron, Hermione, Harry, and I headed up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower.

"Honeydukes Sweet Shop is brilliant, but nothing beats Zonko's joke shop," Ron boasted, "We never did get to visit the Shrieking Shack. It's meant to be the most-"

"-the most haunted building in Britain, I know," Harry finished his sentence.

Looking ahead, I saw that everyone was crowded around the portrait. "What's the holdup?" I asked.

"Probably Neville's forgot the password again," Ron mumbled.

"Hey!" Neville protested, making us all turn around to see him standing behind us.

"Oh, you're here," Ron muttered.

Percy pushed his way past everyone else, continuously stating that he was Head Boy. "No one is to enter this dormitory until it has been fully searched," he warned everyone.

Ginny raced down the steps towards us. "The Fat Lady. She's gone!" she said.

"What?!" I exclaimed.

"Serves her right. She was a terrible singer," Ron grumbled.

"It's not funny, Ron!" Hermione scolded him.

"Make way for the headmaster. Move! You heard, move!" Percy snapped as Dumbledore came up to see what was going on. Everyone moved out of the way immediately, giving Harry and I a full view of the portrait. There were tears, like it had been clawed or something.

Dumbledore examined the portrait and then turned to Filch. "Mr. Filch, round up the ghosts. Have them search every painting in the castle to find the Fat Lady," he ordered.

"There's no need for ghosts, Professor. The Fat Lady's there," Filch objected, pointing to a nearby painting.

Despite Percy's protests of "You listen to me! I'm Head Boy!", we all rushed to the painting, which was of some kind of animal.

"Dear lady, who did this to you?" Dumbledore asked.

The Fat Lady peered out from behind the animal, whimpering. "Eyes like the devil, he's got. And a soul as dark as his name. It's him, Headmaster. The one they all talk about. He's here, somewhere in the castle! Sirius Black!" She panicked and hid behind the animal again.  
I held Ginny's hand tightly.

"Secure the castle, Mr. Filch. The rest of you, to the Great Hall!" Dumbledore ordered.

The castle doors were locked and all the Gryffindors were sent to the Great Hall, where a ton of sleeping bags were laid out on the floor, the long tables having been cleared away. I laid down in between Ginny and Harry. The other students fell asleep once the lights went out. Except Harry and I. There was no way either of us would be able to sleep with the knowledge that Sirius could have just broken into the school.

"I've searched the Astronomy Tower and the Owlery, sir. There's nothing there," I heard Filch report after a while.

"The third floor's clear, too, sir," Flitwick added.

"I've checked the dungeons. No sign of Black, nor anywhere else in the castle," Snape chimed in. He and Dumbledore started walking towards Harry and I. "Remarkable feat, don't you think? To enter a Hogwarts castle on one's own, completely undetected," Snape remarked.

"Quite," Dumbledore conceded.

"Any theories on how he might have managed it?" Snape asked.

"Many. Each as unlikely as the next," Dumbledore replied.

"You may recall, prior to the start of term, I expressed concern about the appointment of Professor-" Snape trailed off.

"Not a single person inside this castle would help Sirius Black to enter it. No. I'm quite convinced the castle is safe, and I'm more than willing to sent the students back to their houses," Dumbledore assured him.

"What about the Potter twins? Should they be warned?" Snape asked. Both of them had stopped right in front of Harry and I.

"Perhaps. But for now, let them sleep," Dumbledore replied. Somehow I got the feeling that he knew my brother and I were awake, because he added, "For in dreams, we enter a world that's entirely our own. Let them swim in the deepest ocean, or glide over the highest cloud." His words were enough to send Harry and I into a peaceful, dreamless sleep, with all thoughts of Sirius Black gone from our minds.

"There's no need for ghosts, Professor. The Fat Lady's there," Filch objected, pointing to a nearby painting.


	36. Game called on account ofDementors?

**Cassia's POV**

We were all super excited for Defense Against the Dark Arts class today. But that excitement turned into silence when Snape came in. With a flick of his wand, he closed all the window shutters and pulled down a projection screen. "Turn to page 394," he said in his usual montone voice. _That's weird, where's Professor Lupin?_

None of us dared to argue with him. We all flipped through the pages of our textbooks. I was shocked at what I saw we were covering today. Werewolves.

"Excuse me, sir, where's Professor Lupin?" Harry asked.

"That's not really your concern, is it, Potter? Surprising to say your professor is incapable of teaching at the present time. Turn to page 394," Snape replied. He tapped a slide projector with his wand. When he saw Ron was going too slow for his liking, he pointed his wand at the book, causing it to turn to the right page.

"Werewolves?" Ron wondered.

"But sir, we've only just begun learning about red caps and hinkypunks. We're not meant to start nocturnal beasts for weeks," Hermione objected.

"Quiet," Snape snapped.

"When did she come in? Did you see her come in?" Ron asked.

"Now, which of you can tell me the difference between an Animagus and a werewolf?" Snape asked, just as Hermione raised a hand. He ignored her. "No one? How disappointing."

"Please, sir, an Animagus is a wizard who elects to turn into an animal. A werewolf has no choice. With each full moon, when he transforms, he no longer remembers who he is. He'd kill his best friend if he crossed his path. Furthermore, the werewolf only responds to the call of his own kind," Hermione explained.

To prove her point, Malfoy howled, earning himself a chuckle from a few of the Slytherins and an annoyed huff from me.

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, Miss Granger. Are you not capable of restraining yourself or do you take pride in being an insufferable know-it-all?" Snape asked.

"He's got a point, you know," Ron whispered.

"Five points from Gryffindor. As an antidote to your ignorance, and on my desk by Monday morning, two rolls of parchment on the werewolf, with particular emphasis on recognizing it," Snape continued as we all groaned.

"Sir, it's Quidditch tomorrow," Harry protested.

I nodded in agreement.

Snape stormed over and grasped the edges of Harry's desk, glaring at him with those cold eyes of his. "Then I suggest you and your sister take extra care, Mr. Potter. Loss of limb will not excuse you. Page 394," he snapped. While he continued his lecture, a paper swan flew onto mine and Harry's shared desk. We unfolded the paper to see a picture of people on brooms pelting us with the Quaffle several times over. I looked around to see who had sent it, and then my gaze fell on Malfoy. Malfoy folded his arms and gave me a smirk. In reply, I just took the paper and ripped it to shreds.

* * *

We were supposed to play Slytherin today, but since they bailed for obvious reasons (Malfoy's injury), we were playing Hufflepuff instead. And let's just say we didn't have the best Quidditch weather. It was pouring rain outside, so all the players were given special goggles that had been charmed to not cloud up from the rain and cold. They were also charmed to repel water. At the moment, I was watching from the sidelines, since I'm still a reserve player. We were losing. I could hear the cheers of everyone in the stands, particularly Hermione, who was shouting "Wahoo! Go, Harry! Go, Cassia!"

Katie Bell's broom suddenly got struck by lightning, setting it on fire. I mounted my broom and flew onto the field to take her place. Alicia threw the Quaffle to me, and I zoomed towards the Hufflepuff goal posts. One of the Hufflepuff Chasers tried to knock it out of my hands, but I wouldn't have it. I nudged them right back, knocking them out of my way, and basically pitched the Quaffle straight into one of the hoops.

"Another goal for Gryffindor! Thanks to reserve player Cassia Potter, Gryffindors are catching up to Hufflepuff, 60 to 80!" Lee Jordan announced.

"Yes!" Angelina shouted, high-fiving me.

We, along with Alicia, continued to try and catch up to Hufflepuff, since they were beating us by a healthy margin. Out of the corer of my eye, I saw Harry and Cedric fly straight up into the sky, in pursuit of the Snitch. In this rain, catching it would be easier said than done. So my team and I concentrated on scoring as many goals as possible, while also blocking the Hufflepuffs from scoring further. We did a really good job, if I do say so myself.

Soon, I could feel a burning pain in my head. Not just in my scar, but in my entire head. I tossed the Quaffle to Angelina and used one hand to massage my temples, trying to get rid of the headache. Instead of stopping, it did the opposite- it got worse and worse, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. _What the heck is going on?!_ I wondered. Then I heard some people in the stands screaming in fright and pointing to the sky. I looked up to see what they were going on about, but what I saw nearly made my heart stop. Harry had fallen from his broom, and was plummeting to the ground at an alarming speed. As if that wasn't bad enough, I could see several Dementors circling above the Quidditch pitch. They'd attacked him while he was going after the snitch!

"HARRY!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I flew to him as fast as I could. I reached a hand out to grab him and pull him onto my own broom, but I wasn't quite fast enough. He fell right past me.

" _Arresto Momentum_!" I heard Dumbledore stopped falling and hovered an inch above the ground, before falling with a small _plop_. I landed my broom and knelt down to his level,checked him over. He was still breathing, thank Merlin, and he didn't appear to have any injuries. I felt my mysterious headache subsiding almost immediately.

"Cedric Diggory has caught the snitch! Hufflepuff wins!" Lee announced.

Cedric landed his broom and ran to Madam Hooch. "Madam Hooch, I think we should have a rematch," he suggested.

Madam Hooch shook her head. "No, Mr. Diggory. You caught the snitch, so your team wins," she refused.

"But Harry fainted and fell off his broom! It doesn't seem like a fair win. Please, let us do the match over!" Cedric pleaded. He sighed in frustration when Madam Hooch refused once again.

"Guys, we need help! Harry has to get to the hospital wing!" I called out. My teammates crowded around Harry and then proceeded to lift him off the ground. Cedric even stepped in to help, surprising the Weasley Twins. Guess they didn't expect a member of the "opposition" to step in.

"He looks a bit peaky, doesn't he?" Ron noted as we gathered around Harry's bed, waiting for my brother to wake up.

"Peaky? What do you expect? He fell over a hundred feet," Fred stated, matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, Ron. Let's walk you off the Astronomy Tower. See what you'd look like," George added.

"Probably a right sight better than he normally does," Harry jumped in, chuckling lightly. Hermione and I helped him sit up.

I handed him his glasses. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. What happened?" Harry asked me.

"Well...you fell off your broom," Ron replied, like it was obvious. Which it was.

"I meant the match. Who won?" Harry asked.

"Cedric caught the snitch," I answered.

Cedric almost looked ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry," he apologized, "I tried to convince Madam Hooch to let us do a rematch because I didn't think it was a fair win, but she wouldn't have it."

"No one blames you, Harry. The Dementors aren't supposed to come inside the grounds. Dumbledore was furious. As soon as he saved you, he sent them straight off," Hermione added.

Ron seemed a bit hesitant. He had a blanket-wrapped bundle in his arms. "Er, there's something else you should know too, Harry. When you fell, your broom...sort of...flew into the Whomping Willow, and...well..." he trailed off. As he spoke, he unwrapped the bundle to reveal Harry's broom, now completely destroyed.


	37. A long-overdue hangout with Ceddy

**Cassia's POV**

About a week later, Harry and I took a walk around the grounds. And we just so happened to run into Professor Lupin. Turns out, he'd gone for a walk himself. So now we were accompanying him. "I'm sorry about your broomstick. Is there no chance of fixing it?" he questioned.

I snorted. "Not unless we want a repeat of what happened when Ron's wand broke." Lupin looked at me with confusion in his eyes at my statement. "It's a long story. I'll spare you the details," I said. He didn't need to hear about how we 'stole' Mr. Weasley's car because we couldn't get through the barrier to board the Hogwarts Express.

"Professor, why do the Dementors affect my sister and I so? More than anyone else, I mean?" Harry asked after several long moments of silence between us.

Lupin paused in his walking and made eye contact with us. "Listen, Dementors are among the foulest creatures to walk this earth. They feed on every good feeling, every happy memory, until a person is left with nothing but their worst experiences. The Dementors affect you two more than others because you have true horrors in your past, horrors your classmates can scarcely imagine," he informed us, "You are not weak. Neither of you are. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"We're scared, Professor," Harry admitted, to which I nodded in agreement.

Lupin chuckled half-heartedly. "Well, I'd consider you fools if you weren't," he said.

"We need to know how to fight them. You can teach us," Harry suggested.

Our DADA professor gave a small sigh. "Well, given that the Dementors seem to have developed a particular interest in the two of you, perhaps I should. But after the holidays. For now, I have to rest," he finally conceded.

I was grateful for this, but there was still this urge to know why I had a sudden headache during the match, right before Harry had fallen off his broom. And I guess I was hoping Lupin would give me an answer.

"Is something wrong, Cassia?" Lupin asked, gaining my attention.

I turned my head slightly to meet his gaze, his caramel-colored eyes meeting my green ones. "No, nothing's wrong. It's just...during the Quidditch match last week, right before the Dementors attacked Harry, I...it felt like my head was pounding. And then, when Dumbledore used that spell to stop Harry from falling, the headache just...disappeared," I explained.

"Interesting..." Lupin mused.

"Do you think you could tell me why that happened?" I asked. I couldn't help fiddling with my hands. The suspense was killing me! I _had_ to have answers.

Lupin only chuckled at me and replied with, "In due time, my dear Cassia." _Oh, come ON!_ I groaned in my head.

* * *

Today was the day of another Hogsmeade weekend. I still felt bad for Harry because he couldn't go, so I decided to stay behind with him again. But this time, he seemed adamant on staying alone.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" I asked him for what was probably the twelfth time.

Harry sighed with slight annoyance. "Yes, baby sis," he answered.

"I just don't want you to be lonely. I feel bad leaving you by yourself," I told him.

He put his hands on my shoulders. "Cassi, I don't want you to worry about me. I'll be just fine. I have Hedwig, Ginny, Cricket, and Ron's twin brothers to keep me company," he assured me, "You go have fun at Hogsmeade. Okay?"

I nodded. "Alright." I gave him a huge hug before running to catch up with Ron and Hermione, and the rest of the students who were going to Hogsmeade. This was the last trip before the Christmas holidays, so obviously, this was a big deal. As we made our way to the carriages, someone tapped me on the shoulder, scaring me half to death. I turned around, pointing my wand at the person - ready to hex them for sneaking up on me and trying to jump-scare me - only to see Cedric Diggory grinning at me and waving hello.

"Cedric, what are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?!" I snapped, clutching my heart as I tried to regain my composure.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "Didn't mean to scare you."

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it." And then I did what any girl excited to talk to their friend again would do. I practically tackled him into a hug. He stumbled back a little bit, but he didn't fall. Thank goodness! "So what's up? Besides this being a Hogsmeade weekend, I mean?" I asked once we'd pulled away.

"Schoolwork, preparing for O. ...that kind of thing," Cedric replied.

I nodded. "That's understandable..."

"I was wondering...since we didn't get a chance to walk around Hogsmeade together last time, maybe we could do it today," Cedric offered.

Excitement bubbled up inside me, and I had to fight it to avoid screaming 'yes' at the top of my lungs. "Yeah. Sure, that'd be great," I agreed.

The two of us linked arms as we walked to the carriages. When we found a vacant one, Cedric helped me in, like a gentleman.

"Thank you," I said in a ladylike voice.

Cedric bowed jokingly and replied with, "My pleasure, m'lady." That made us both crack up laughing. Before long, I could feel a blush forming on my cheeks. I've secretly began developing a little crush on Cedric over the past few months. I don't know what it is about him that intrigues me so much, but whatever it is, it's making me gravitate towards him.

"Think you're gonna like these," Cedric told me, holding up a bunch of candies that looked like witch hats and a box of Exploding Bon-Bons.

"You think so, huh?" I playfully challenged. Although, truth be told, I'd never tried either of these Honeydukes candies. In fact, I'd never even seen these before, not even on the candy trolley on the Hogwarts Express. Well, the witch hats are probably new, so that could partially explain it. But I have heard of Exploding Bon-Bons before, I just never got an opportunity to try them.

Cedric made his purchase, and I also made mine- a pack of Sugar Quills, 2 Chocolate Frogs, and a bag of Every Flavor Beans. Then we sat down on a bench outside. It was freezing cold, but we were having too much fun together to care. He reached into one of our Honeydukes bags and pulled out a witch-hat candy, handing it to me. I tentatively took it and gave it a bite. It tasted like chocolate, caramel, and crystallized pineapple all rolled into one.

"So how is it?" Cedric asked.

"Pretty good," I answered, "Thank you, by the way."

He looked quizzically at me. "What for?"

"Just in general. For this hangout date. For...believing Harry and I when everyone thought we were behind those attacks last year. And most of all, for being my friend," I replied. I have no idea what came over me - maybe it was my crush on him, or...who knows? - but I went for it and kissed him on the cheek.

Immediately, a grin formed on his face and I could see him starting to blush. "You're welcome?" he said, sounding a little bit embarrassed. _Oops...I think I might have overdone it._

 **Cedric's POV**

"Just in general. For this hangout date. For...believing Harry and I when everyone thought we were behind those attacks last year. And most of all, for being my friend," Cassia thanked me. Out of nowhere, she leaned forward and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

I felt myself starting to blush. "You're welcome?" I answered. Merlin, I sounded stupid. _Get it together, Cedric! Just because you're crushing on her doesn't mean you have to sound like an idiot!_

Yeah, I'm starting to like Cassia. Everything about her attracts me to her. For one thing, she's very pretty, with that raven hair contrasting against her porcelain skin, and those green eyes that always make me feel like I'm looking at a pair of emeralds. She has a sweet and friendly disposition, always thinking of others and putting their needs before her own. Not to mention her great sense of humor, as well as her sarcastic streak. Both of these characteristics make her a very lively person. But what I love most about her is her undying loyalty- she was willing to give her life for her brother or her friends if any of them were in danger. All in all, Cassia Helena Potter is the most amazing person I have ever met, and I hope that, one day, our friendship can blossom into something more.


	38. He's the reason they're dead

**Cassia's POV**

After a few hours of walking around Hogsmeade together, Cedric and I ran into Hermione and Ron near the Shrieking Shack. We all just stood huddled together at the fence separating us from that spooky little cottage.

"It's rumored to be the most haunted building in Britain. Did I mention that?" Hermione asked.

"Twice," Ron answered.

I giggled. "Uh, I think that was more than twice, Ron."

"More like 10 times," Cedric joked.

Hermione blushed, embarrassed. "Do you want to move a bit closer?" she asked.

"Huh?" Ron questioned, looking at her.

I rolled my eyes. "She meant closer to the Shrieking Shack."

"Uh, no. I'm-I'm fine here," Ron replied.

"Of course you are," Cedric sarcastically remarked. _Guess I'm rubbing off on him._

"Well, well. Look what we have here," an unpleasant voice said from behind us. I mentally groaned. _Malfoy._ And he had Crabbe and Goyle with him. "You two shopping for your new dream home?" he asked, "Grand for you, isn't it, Weaselbee? Don't your family sleep in, uh, one room?"

"Shut your mouth, Malfoy," Ron warned.

"Ooh, _not_ very friendly," Malfoy noted. He turned to his goons, "Boys, I think it's time we teach Weaselbee how to respect his superiors."

Hermione sarcastically laughed. "Hope you don't mean yourself," she retorted.

"How _dare_ you talk to me?! You filthy little Mudblood!" Malfoy snapped.

"Don't make me barbeque you," I warned, opening my palm and conjuring a ball of fire in my hand.

Before Malfoy could draw his wand to try and hex me, a snowball hit him. "Who's there?" he called out, clearly a little spooked. Another snowball hit him. Then another. And another. "Don't stand there, do something!" he yelled at his goons.

"What?" Goyle asked. His hat was pulled down, covering his eyes. Crabbe was pantsed, and then knocked off his feet. Something grabbed Goyle's scarf and started dragging him around like a sack of potatoes. Malfoy was suddenly tripped, and an unseen force grabbed his ankles, pulling him in the direction of the Shrieking Shack.

"What's up, Malfoy? Lost your skis?" Ron teased him.

The strange force let go of Malfoy's legs. He jumped to his feet and started running as fast as he could. "Get out of the way!" he yelled, pushing both of his goons to the ground.

"Malfoy, wait! Wait!" Goyle yelled as he and Crabbe ran after him.

We all cracked up laughing. Someone started playing with Ron's hat ties and Hermione's hair. Then I felt my hands being pinned behind my back and a head resting on my shoulder.

"Harry!" Hermione said, playfully rolling her eyes.

My brother yanked our father's Invisibility Cloak off himself. I could see his face starting to turn red from laughter.

"Bloody hell, Harry! That was _not_ funny!" Ron exclaimed, trying to sound mad but failing because he couldn't stop laughing. Before long, we were all cracking up laughing once again.

* * *

"Those weasels! Never said anything about some Marauders' Map," Ron said, as we walked back through Hogsmeade again.

"Yes, but Harry isn't going to keep it. He's going to turn it in to Professor McGonagall. Aren't you, Harry?" Hermione replied, turning to Harry.

"Oh, sure. Along with his Invisibility Cloak," Ron sarcastically commented.

We stopped in front of a pub called _The Three Broomsticks_ , where a woman - who looked like she could be the owner - was hammering a sign on the front wall.

"Oh, look who it is. Madam Rosmerta. Ron fancies her," Hermione taunted.

"That's not true!" Ron objected.

Looking ahead, I saw Fudge stepping out of a carriage, which Hagrid was holding the door to.  
"Pardon me, Minister," Hagrid said. He accidentally ripped the door off. "Sorry 'bout that," he apologized.

But Fudge just waved it off like it wasn't a big deal. "Greetings, Rosmerta. Hope business is good," he greeted Madam Rosmerta.

"It'd be a lot better if the Ministry wasn't sending Dementors into my pub every other night," Madam Rosmerta replied, shaking her hammer at Fudge like she was scolding him.

"Surely you understand. We have a killer on the loose," Fudge reasoned.

"Sirius Black, in Hogsmeade? Now, what would bring him here?" Rosmerta asked.  
McGonagall whispered something to her, and her eyes widened. "Harry and Cassia Potter?!" she exclaimed, only to be shushed by Fudge and McGonagall. Then all three of them made their way inside _The Three Broomsticks_.

Curiosity got the best of both Harry and I. "Come on," Harry whispered to me. We threw the Invisibility Cloak over our heads and rushed inside the tavern, right before the door closed. The three adults were heading up a flight of stairs to my right.

"Wonder what they needed to talk about that was so private," I whispered to Harry.

"Only one way to find out," he whispered in reply. He and I made our way up the stairs and into a small room where the three adults were gathered.

Madam Rosmerta shut the door behind us. "Now, tell me what this is all about," she demanded.

Professor McGonagall sat down on a nearby couch. "Well, years ago, when Harry and Cassia Potter's parents realized they were marked for death, they went into hiding. Few knew where they were. One who did was Sirius Black. And he told You-Know-Who," she explained.

"Why would he do that? And how did they go into hiding exactly?" Rosmerta asked.

"They used the Fidelius Charm," Fudge replied, "An immensely complex charm that involves the magical concealment of a secret inside a living soul. That person is referred to as a Secret-Keeper. Of course, there can be more than one Secret-Keeper, but in this case, the Potters chose only one. Once the Fidelius Charm is put into place, the secret remains hidden unless the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it. With the Fidelius Charm, You-Know-Who could have searched the entire country and never found the Potters, even if he had his face pressed against their living room window."

"Being that Sirius Black was James Potter's best friend, he was chosen to be the Secret Keeper," McGonagall added.

"Not only did Black lead You-Know-Who to the Potters that night, but he also killed one of their friends, Peter Pettigrew," Fudge cut in.

"Peter Pettigrew?!" Madam Rosmerta repeated.

"Little lump of a boy, always trailing after Sirius Black," Professor McGonagall piped up.

"What happened then?" Madam Rosmerta asked.

"Well, Pettigrew tried to warn the Potters and might have managed to, had he not run into an old friend. Sirius Black," McGonagall went on.

"Black was vicious. He didn't kill Pettigrew. He destroyed him!" Fudge said, "A finger." He held up one of his own fingers. "That's all that was left. A finger. Nothing else."

"Sirius Black might not have put his hands to the Potters, but he's the reason they're dead. And that's not the worst part," Professor McGonagall added.

"What could be worse?" Madam Rosmerta asked. I could tell she was getting a little nervous.

"This: Sirius Black was, and remains to this day, Harry and Cassia Potter's godfather," Professor McGonagall replied.

I had to hold onto Harry's arm to prevent myself from fainting. This was way too much for me to handle. And somehow, I knew Harry had the same feeling. It was probably a twin thing. Keeping a firm hold on my arm, Harry half-ran and half-walked out of the room, down the stairs, and out of the pub. We wanted to get as far away as we could. On the way, we accidentally knocked over a bunch of carolers, but neither of us cared at the moment.

 **Cedric's POV**

"Look," Hermione whispered, pointing to the ground. When I looked, I saw footprints leading away from us. I immediately knew it was Harry and Cassia. The two of them rushed away from us, knocking over a bunch of carolers in their wake. Hermione muttered quick apologies to the carolers as we ran after the footprints.

The footprints led us into the clearing where we'd been earlier, when we were all looking out at the Shrieking Shack and Harry had scared the hell out of Malfoy and his two idiots. They stopped right at a rock. Harry and Cassia must be sitting on it. A faint sniffling sound filled my ears, followed by soft crying. Cautiously, we made our way over to the rock.

Hermione tentatively reached out a hand and pulled the cloak off Harry and Cassia, revealing them in tears. "Harry? Cassia? What happened?" she asked. Seeing one of my closest friends in tears hurt me.

"He was their friend...and he betrayed them," Harry sniffled. He then raised his voice, shouting, "HE WAS THEIR FRIEND!"

"I hope he finds us," Cassia said through her tears. "'Cause when he does, we're gonna be ready."

"When he does, we're gonna kill him!" Harry added.

I wrapped my arms around Cassia, letting her cry into my chest.

I kept an arm around Cassia the whole way back to the carriages. When we found an empty one, I gently picked her up and set her on my lap. She didn't say a word, she just buried her face in my chest and cried. I wrapped my arms around her, engulfing her into a hug.

"Do you want to talk about what happened in there?" I asked her after a while.

She nodded, making eye contact with me. "Harry and I snuck into the pub to listen in on what McGonagall and Fudge were saying..."

"And?" I questioned, coaxing her to continue.

"Sirius Black knew where our parents were hiding. They'd used the Fidelius Charm and Black was chosen as their Secret-Keeper...and then he blew their cover," she said, "But it gets worse- that criminal...is our godfather." She started to cry again, making me hug her tighter.

I wished I could do something to help her. Anything. But I knew I couldn't tell her that what she and Harry had heard wasn't true, because Professor McGonagall wouldn't lie about something as serious as this. All I could do was hold her close to me, comforting her until she had no more tears left to cry.


	39. The Patronus Charm

**Cassia's POV**

Today, Harry and I had our private lesson with Professor Lupin in the Astronomy Tower.  
"Harry, Cassia. Good. You came," Lupin greeted us from where he stood on the balcony above us. "Now, are you both sure about this? This is very advanced magic, well beyond the Ordinary Wizarding Level."

Harry and I both nodded.

Seeming satisfied with that response, Lupin made his way down the stairs, towards us. "Alright. The spell I'm going to try to teach you two is called the Patronus Charm. Have you ever heard of it?" he questioned.

We shook our heads.

"Well, a Patronus, for the wizard who conjures one, works something like a shield, with the Dementor feeding on it, rather than him...or her. But in order to do that, you have to think of a memory. Not just any memory; a very happy memory, a very powerful memory," Professor Lupin explained. He leaned back, sitting down on a trunk. "Now close your eyes," he instructed.

We obeyed.

"Concentrate...explore your past." I heard Lupin telling us."When you have a memory, allow it to fill you up, lose yourself, and speak the incantation: Expecto Patronum."

"Expecto Patronum," Harry and I said at the same time.

"Very good," Lupin praised.

One at a time, we opened our eyes.

Lupin got off the trunk and crossed over behind it. "Now, wands at the ready," he said.

We drew our wands.

Professor Lupin waved a hand over the trunk, unlocking it. Then he took off the lid. A Dementor was now looming over us.

" _Expecto Patronum_!" Harry spoke, pointing his wand at the Dementor. The skeletal candles surrounding us were snuffed out, but Harry stood his ground. And so did I. "Expecto...Expecto...Expect..." My brother fainted, causing me to feel an immense pain radiating throughout my brain.

"Ugh... _Expecto Patronum_!" I managed through my headache. The pain got stronger and worse. It felt like there was constant pressure on my skull. What was going on with me? Why did I feel this pain? And why did it hurt so much? "Expecto...Patro..." That was all I got out before the pain became too much, and I blacked out.

* * *

When I came to, I could feel someone's hands on my back, helping me sit up. Professor Lupin stood in front of me, holding my hand. I turned around to see who was behind me, and I saw Harry had his hands on my back. The headache I'd developed had vanished as mysteriously as it'd appeared.

"Are you alright, Cassia?" Professor Lupin asked, holding out a piece of chocolate for me.

I nodded, taking the chocolate and nibbling it slightly. "Yes. I'm okay, except...when Harry fainted, I felt that headache again."

"I see," Lupin said, "Well, I didn't expect either of you to conjure your Patronus the first time. That would have been remarkable to hear."

"That's one nasty Dementor," Harry remarked.

I nodded in agreement.

Lupin shook his head. "No, no, no. That was a Boggart, children. A Boggart. The real thing would be worse. Much, much worse."

"You've got that right," I concurred.

"As a matter of interest, which memory did you choose?" Professor Lupin asked, getting up to light the skeleton candles again.

"The first time I rode a broom," Harry said.

Professor Lupin made eye contact with me. "And which memory did you choose, Cassia?"

"Meeting my brother for the first time," I answered. It was literally the first happy memory that popped into my mind. Don't judge!

"No. That's not good enough. Not nearly good enough," he told us.

"What do you mean?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The memory you choose has to be the happiest you've ever felt in your life," Lupin clarified.

"Oh..." I said.

Harry seemed lost in thought for a moment. He got up and walked towards one of the candles. "There's another. It's not...happy, exactly," he said, letting his fingers hover very close to the flames. "Well, it is. It's the happiest I've ever felt. But it's complicated."

"Is it strong?" Professor Lupin asked.

Harry nodded.

"Well, let's try again" Lupin said, "This time, I'm going to have you go one at a time, starting with you, Harry. Are you ready?"

Harry nodded again. "Just do it," he said quietly.

Professor Lupin opened the trunk again, and out came the Dementor.

" _Expecto Patronum_!" Harry exclaimed. Nothing happened, unless you count the candles being snuffed out again. " _EXPECTO PATRONUM_!" he shouted. A bright light came from the tip of hs wand, and got bigger and bigger until it formed a gigantic shield, repelling the Dementor/Boggart. Harry lowered his wand, which consequently sent the Dementor/Boggart back into its trunk.

Lupin slammed the trunk shut. "Well done!" he praised Harry, before giving him some chocolate. "Here, eat this. It helps. It really helps." He then looked at me. "Cassia, I believe it is your turn now. Are you ready?"

I nodded. "Bring it on."

Professor Lupin chuckled, and then he opened the trunk once more. The Dementor/Boggart sprang out and began to advance towards me. Despite the overwhelming feeling of depression filling the atmosphere of the room, I managed to find a happy memory, this time more powerful. I thought of all the times with my brother and my friends, and of course, my crush, Cedric. All the adventures we'd been on over the past few years, and how close I'd grown to them.

" _Expecto Patronum_!" I said the spell. Just like with Harry, a bright light emerged from the tip of my wand, sending the Dementor back into the trunk.

Professor Lupin had a huge smile on his face as he slammed the lid of the trunk shut. "Well done to you as well, Cassia!" he said, patting me on the back.

I sat down on one of the steps, right beside Harry. "We did it," I whispered to him, giving him a hug.

"Good job," Harry congratulated me, giving me a high-five.

"You didn't do so bad yourself," I replied.

Lupin came over and sat down with us. "You know, I think you both would have given your parents a run for their money. And _that_ is saying something," he informed us.

"I was thinking about them. Both of them. And you, Cassia," Harry said, glancing at me. "Seeing your faces. Mum and Dad were talking to us. Just talking. You and I were smiling. That's the memory I chose. I don't even know if it's real. But it's the best I have."

I couldn't help but smile at him, before making eye contact with Professor Lupin. "Professor, I hate to put a damper on our good mood, but you still haven't answered my question. Why have I started having headaches every time Harry is in trouble or when he gets hurt?" I asked.

Professor Lupin thought for a moment. "Well, Cassia, it seems that you are capable of performing minor Legilimency," he finally said after a long pause.

"Legilimency?" I questioned.

He nodded. "Legilimency is the art of magically navigating the mind of an individual. In other words, mind-reading. Frankly, I'm impressed that it shows in you. Most wizards or witches go years before learning and mastering Legilimency," he explained, "Your fainting is almost a direct cause of the Boggart affecting Harry. The pain became too much for you, causing you to lose consciousness."

I was very confused. "What do you mean? I wouldn't exactly call sensing my brother in distress minor..."

Lupin chuckled a bit. "I wouldn't, either. But what I am trying to say is that you are able to sense when your brother is in pain, or if an enemy is approaching. Whatever pain Harry is in will affect you twice as badly. That is why you develop 'headaches', as you call them. They alert you to your brother's distress," he clarified. "Now do you understand?"

"I think so," I replied. Least I finally got an answer. "Thank you, by the way...for agreeing to help us protect ourselves against the Dementors," I added.

He put a hand on my shoulder. "You're quite welcome. And you did good, both of you."

I couldn't have agreed more with him. We _had_ done pretty good, if I do say so myself. And I know in my heart that our parents would be very proud of us.


	40. That's impossible

**Cassia's POV**

Today was Sunday, which meant we didn't have classes. We decided to go see Hagrid and talk to him. He'd had his hearing for Buckbeak with the Disposal of Magical Creatures today, and we all wanted to know what the verdict had been. I was crossing my fingers that it'd gone well, but considering that Lucius Malfoy was there, I knew it was probably gonna be bad. He probably twisted the story so that Hagrid could get in trouble.

"Beautiful day" Hermione noted as we walked through the courtyard.

"Sure," Ron replied, "unless, of course, you've been ripped to pieces."

"Ripped to pieces?" Harry and I echoed. _What the bloody hell was he on about?_

Hermione sighed in annoyance. "Ronald has lost his rat."

"I haven't lost anything. Your cat killed him!" Ron snapped at Hermione.

"Rubbish," Hermione said, rolling her eyes at him.

I scoffed. "Oh, sure, put the blame one of your best friends, who just so happens to own a cat."

Ron looked at my brother. "Harry, you've seen the way those bloodthirsty beasts of theirs are always lurking about. Scabbers is gone!"

"Well, maybe you should learn to take better care of your pets!" Hermione snapped.

"Your cat killed him! And he probably gave Cricket the tail for dessert!" Ron insisted.

"Own up, Ron! You're the one who's always losing Scabbers, so don't go playing the blame game," I argued, "And for the record, Cricket hasn't gone near Scabbers since that day in the Leaky Cauldron."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Well, how do you explain the blood on my sheets? And the cat hairs?"

"How many times do I have to tell you, those cat hairs could've been there since the start of term! You guys never clean up your dorm!" Hermione scolded him. She was definitely fed up with him pointing fingers at our felines. _That makes two of us._

"Just admit it, your cats killed him!" Ron pestered us.

"Did not," Hermione and I said in sync.

"Did."

"Didn't."

The argument went on and on. Ron just wouldn't own up to losing Scabbers.

* * *

We found Hagrid by the Black Lake. He was up to his mid-calves in the water, skipping rocks.

"How did it go, Hagrid? The hearing?" Hermione asked.

"Well, first off, the committee members took turns saying why we were there," Hagrid replied, "And I got up, did my piece, said Buckbeak was a good Hippogriff, always cleaned his feathers."

"And then what happened?" I asked.

Hagrid huffed. "An' then, Lucius Malfoy got up, an' you can imagine, he said that Buckbeak was a 'deadly, dangerous creature who'd kill yeh as soon as look at yeh.'"

"And then?" Hermione questioned.

"Then he asked to the worst, did ol' Lucius," Hagrid answered, skipping another rock.

"They're not sacking you..." Ron assumed, shaking his head.

Hagrid shook his head. "No, I'm not sacked." I mentally sighed in relief at that. He skipped another stone, sniffling a bit. "Buckbeak's been sentenced to death!" he told us. He threw another rock, which landed in the water with a loud splash.

I slipped my shoes off and ran into the water. My feet were starting to numb from the cold, but I didn't care. I hugged my half-giant friend, trying to comfort him the best that I could. Before long, Harry, Ron, and Hermione came into the water and joined the hug, turning it into one big group hug.

* * *

"Cass, Cassi, wake up!" someone whispered, waking me from my sleep. I opened my eyes to see Harry standing over me, with a bundle of parchment in one hand and his lit wand in his other hand.

"Any particular reason why you woke me up at...probably 2 in the morning?" I inquired, trying to sound mad but failing due to exhaustion.

Harry held up the map for me to see. "I was reading the map, and then I saw Peter Pettigrew appear."

I shook my head. "How is that possible? He can't appear on the map if he's dead."

"I thought the same thing. But the map says otherwise," he said. "Come on. Come with me." He pulled me out of bed.

"Why? Where are we going?" I asked.

Harry looked back at me for just a moment. "To look for Pettigrew."

I rolled my eyes, but put on my slippers and followed him anyway. We snuck out of the portrait hole and down one of the corridors, using only the map as a guide so we could see where Pettigrew was going. Or, at least, where he was.

"Put that light out," one of the paintings on the wall ordered when Harry accidentally pointed his wand in its direction.

"Sorry," Harry apologized, pointing his wand back at the map.

I glanced over his shoulder, to see that Pettigrew was coming towards us. But how? I couldn't see him in front of us, not in the dark corridor. The only sign indicating his presence was his footsteps appearing on the map. I panicked a little as he got closer and closer. We looked around to see where he was, only to get a little scare when we turned towards a mirror. Harry jumped, trying to hold back a scream, while I clung to his arm like it was a lifeline. With my free hand, I lit my wand, pointing it around the corridor.

"Watch it there, you two. We're trying to sleep here," another painting complained, making me point my wand elsewhere.

We both looked at the map again, and saw Pettigrew had disappeared, but something worse was coming our way. Professor Snape. _Oh, no!_ He was probably patrolling the corridors tonight, which meant that if Harry and I were caught, we were _so_ dead.

"Mischief Managed," Harry whispered, pointing his wand at the map. It became blank.

"Nox," we both whispered. The light emitted from our wands was extinguished, and we were surrounded in darkness...for all of two measly seconds.

"Potters. What are you doing, wandering the corridors at night?" Snape asked us, pointing his lit wand straight at us.

"I was sleepwalking," Harry lied.

"And you?" Snape questioned, making eye contact with me.

"He, uh, dragged me out here...when he was sleepwalking," I fibbed, fidgeting with my fingers.

"Extraordinarily like your father. He, too, was exceedingly arrogant, strutting about the castle," Snape remarked.

"Our dad didn't strut. And nor do we," Harry snapped.

"Now, if you don't mind, we would appreciate it if you could lower your wand," I added.

Snape complied, lowering his wand. The bulging pocket of Harry's hoodie caught his attention. "Turn out your pockets," he demanded.

Harry only looked at him like a deer in headlights.

"Turn out your pockets," he repeated.

Harry pulled out the map.

"What's this?" Snape asked, pointing his wand at the blank map.

"Bundle of parchment," Harry answered, playing dumb.

"Open it," Snape ordered.

Harry obeyed, and then Snape pointed his wand in the center of the parchment. "Reveal your secrets," he said in his monotone voice. Words started to appear on the parchment. "Read it," Snape ordered us.

"Messers Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs...offer their compliments to Professor Snape, and..." I started.

"Go on," Snape sarcastically encouraged us.

"...and request that he keeps his abnormally large nose out of other people's business," Harry finished. I really had to fight to keep myself from laughing.

"Why, you insolent, little-" Snape snapped.

"Professor," someone cut him off.

Snape turned around to see it was Professor Lupin. "Well, well...Lupin. Out for a little walk...in the moonlight, are we?" he asked. He snatched the map from us and handed it to Professor Lupin. "I have just confiscated a rather curious artifact from Mr. and Miss Potter. Take a look. Supposed to be your area of expertise. Clearly, it's full of dark magic."

Professor Lupin examined at the parchment. "I seriously doubt it, Severus. Looks to me like it's merely a parchment designed to insult anyone who tries to read it," he said, chuckling. "I suspect it's a Zonko product. Nevertheless, I shall investigate any hidden qualities it may possess. After all, it is, as you say, my area of expertise. Harry, Cassia, would you come with me, please? Professor, good night." He took us to his classroom. "Come in." We did. "Now, Harry, I haven't the slightest idea how this map came into your possession, but I am astounded that you didn't hand it in," he said, "Did it ever occur to you that this, in the hands of Sirius Black, is a map to you?" He held up the map.

"No, sir," Harry replied.

I nodded in agreement. "It didn't."

"You know, your father never did set much store by the rules either, but he and your mother gave their lives to save yours. Both of you. And gambling their sacrifice by wandering around the castle, unprotected, with a killer on the loose, seems - to me - a pretty poor way to repay them," he berated us, "Now, I will not cover up for you again, you two. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Harry and I said at once.

"I want you to return to your dormitory and stay there," Professor Lupin told us. "And don't take any detours. If you do-" he held up the map. "-I shall know."

We nodded and started to leave, but turned back to face Professor Lupin.

"Professor, just so you know, I don't think that map always works. Earlier on, it showed someone. Someone I know to be dead," said Harry.

"Really? Who might that be?" Lupin asked.

"Peter Pettigrew," I answered.

Lupin looked shocked, to say the least. "That's not possible," he muttered, mostly to himself, but Harry and I heard it.

We practically sprinted back to Gryffindor Tower without another word.

* * *

"Broaden your minds. You must look beyond. The art of crystal gazing is in the clearing of the Inner Eye. Only then can you see," Trelawney droned on and on during Divination the next day. Ron had his head on the desk, snoring away.

"How do you put up with that every night?" I whispered to Harry, jabbing a thumb in Ron's direction.

Harry only shrugged in response before looking into the crystal once more.

"And what do we have here?" Trelawney asked, making us jump. It was enough to scare Ron awake, because he shot up straight in his chair.

"Do you mind me trying?" Hermione asked. In response, Trelawney made a gesture with her hand as if to say 'be my guest'. Hermione stared into the crystal for only a moment before guessing, "The Grim. Possibly."

A frown formed on our Divination professor's face. "My dear, from the first moment you stepped into my class, I sensed that you did not possess the proper spirit for the noble art of Divination," she said, taking Hermione's hand and reading her palm. "Ah, you may be young in years, but the heart that beats beneath your bosom is as shriveled as an old maid's, and your soul as dry as the pages of the books to which you so desperately cleave." She held her hand and gave her wrist a loving pat.

To say Hermione was angry was a _serious_ understatement. She ripped her hand away from Trelawney's and deliberately knocked over the crystal ball before storming out of the room.

Professor Trelawney looked confused. "Have I said something?" she asked. We couldn't answer her, we were too shocked by Hermione's behavior.

* * *

"She's gone mental, Hermione has. I mean, not that she wasn't always mental, but now it's out in the open for everyone to see!" Ron said as we walked down the stairs and back to the common room, being as Divination had been our last class of the day.

I put my hand up, stopping him from ranting any further. "We get it, Ron."

Harry suddenly came to a stop on the stairs, making Ron and I stop as well. He bent down and picked something up. It was the crystal ball Hermione had knocked over.

"We'd better bring this back," he said. I nodded in agreement. Trelawney would probably be upset if we didn't. Or even worse, she'd drive us - and the whole class - crazy with predicting terrible deaths on Monday.

"I'm not going back!" Ron exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh come _on_ , Ron! She's a professor, not a spider!" I followed Harry back up the stairs and into the Divination classroom. It didn't take long for Harry to find the single empty stand, and we put the crystal back where it belonged. We turned to go, but then we heard the crystal start to hiss.

"Uh...last I checked, crystals didn't hiss," I said.

Harry looked just as nervous as I was. "Why's it doing that?"

"I don't know," I replied. We advanced closer to the crystal and saw the fog inside turning a beige color. A face slowly appeared in the center and hissed both of our names. Harry and I looked at each other with both confusion and fear etched on our faces. Suddenly, I felt a hand squeeze my shoulder, scaring me. That same person grabbed Harry's shoulder as well, and we turned around to see-

"Professor Trelawney?!" Harry questioned, shocked.

"He will return tonight!" Trelawney exclaimed. She sounded way different than normal. It was almost as if she was...possessed.

"Pardon?" Harry said.

I blinked. "What?"

"Tonight, he who betrayed his friends, whose heart rots with murder shall break free! Innocent blood shall be spilt, and servant and master shall be reunited once more!" Trelawney said. Then she coughed a few times, like she was trying to get a bad taste out of her mouth. She looked at us, a bit dazed. "So sorry, dear children. Did you say something?" We shook our heads frantically.

"No," Harry replied.

"We didn't," I added. The two of us ran out of there as fast as we could. _Is it just me or is Trelawney a little nutsy?_


	41. The Grim

**Cassia's POV**

Buckbeak's execution was this evening. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I had decided to go see Hagrid because we wanted to be there for him.

As we walked through the courtyard, we saw the executioner sharpening his axe. He stopped for a moment and looked up at us, flashing an evil grin. I shook it off and we left him there to continue sharpening the blade that would end Buckbeak's life in a matter of minutes.

"I can't believe they're going to kill Buckbeak. It's just too horrible," Hermione said as we walked across the bridge.

I shook my head. "Malfoy just had to go and insult him and then go crying to his daddy. This is all his fault."

"Just got worse," Ron spoke, making the rest of us come to a stop. There was Malfoy and his two goons, watching Buckbeak from behind a huge stone, just mere feet away from us.

"Speak of the devil..." I muttered.

Malfoy looked up to see us approaching. "Ah, come to see the show?" he taunted us.

That was the last straw for any of us. Malfoy had insulted us a lot, but causing an innocent creature to be sentenced to death because of _his_ stupid mistakes was crossing the line. Hermione was going to march over to him and give him a piece of her mind, but I beat her to it.

"This is all your fault, you slimy, ferret-faced jerk!" I yelled, slapping him across the face as hard as I possibly could.

"The thing scratched me, in case you forgot!" Malfoy argued.

I yanked him to his feet and forced him up against the stone behind him, clamping my hands around his wrists. "Hagrid warned us not to insult a Hippogriff, and you went ahead and did it anyway! Didn't your mother ever tell you not to poke a grizzly bear with a stick?!" I snapped, getting all up in his face. I took his wrists in one hand, using my other hand to point my wand at him.

"You're nothing but a foul, loathsome, evil little COCKROACH!" Hermione added, coming to stand next to me. She also had her wand pointed at Malfoy. "Mark my words, you _will_ pay for this."

Before either of us could cause any real damage, Ron spoke up, "Guys, let him go. He's not worth it."

I exchanged glances with Hermione, and then we both looked at Malfoy. His eyes were closed and he was whimpering. He looked genuinely frightened. We slowly lowered our wands, keeping eye contact with him. The second we turned around, however, Malfoy started laughing. What happened next completely took me by surprise. Hermione whirled around and punched Malfoy right in the face, making him fall to his knees. She definitely broke his nose- I heard a crack when her fist made contact with it. Ha! Serves him right!

"Malfoy, you okay?" Crabbe asked. He and Goyle both had to help Malfoy to his feet.

"Let's go!" Goyle said. He, Crabbe, and Malfoy started to retreat away from us. As an extra little bit of payback, I threw a fireball at their butts. They screamed bloody murder and ran so fast that they were all-out sprinting back to the castle. I smirked in satisfaction and blew on my fingernails.

"That felt good," Hermione remarked.

"Not good. Brilliant," Ron corrected her.

I shrugged. "What can I say? He had that coming."

* * *

We quickly made our way down to Hagrid's hut, and were welcomed in immediately.

"Oh, look at him. Loves the smell o' the trees when the wind blows through 'em," Hagrid said, staring at Buckbeak, who was sitting in the pumpkin patch outside the window. I felt so bad for both of them.

"Why don't you just set him free, Hagrid?" Harry asked.

Hagrid sighed. "They'd know it was me. Dumbledore'd get into trouble. Comin' down, yeh know, Dumbledore. Says he wants to be with me, when it...when it happens. Great man, Dumbledore. Great man."

"We'll stay with you too, Hagrid," I insisted.

"You'll do no such thing!" Hagrid refused, "Think I want yeh seein' something like that? No. Just drink yer tea and be off. Oh, before yeh do, Ron..." He crossed over to a table and opened a tin box, pulling out - to our surprise - Scabbers.

"Scabbers, you're alive!" Ron exclaimed, taking the rat into his arms.

"Keep a closer eye on your pets, Ron," Hagrid scolded him.

"That means you owe somebody an apology," Hermione snapped, standing up.

I crossed my arms, glaring daggers at him. "Actually, you owe _two_ somebodies an apology." I held up two fingers.

Ron nodded. "Right. Next time I see Cricket and Crookshanks, I'll let them know."

"I meant _us_!" Hermione snapped. Suddenly, a vase near me shattered in half, making us all jump.

"Blimey, what was that?" Hagrid asked.

"Ow!" Harry suddenly exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head. Either he bumped his head on something or someone from outside threw a rock at him. It could have been Malfoy, but I decided against it. Malfoy may be a bully, but he wouldn't try something as basic as throwing rocks.

I glanced out the window and almost jumped. Dumbledore, Fudge, and the executioner were heading for the hut. "Hagrid..."

Hagrid came over to the window and looked. He started to get nervous. "Oh, boy..." he muttered. "It's late. Nearly dark. You shouldn't be here. Someone sees yeh outside the castle at this hour, you'll be in trouble. Big trouble. particularly you, Harry. You too, Cass," he warned us.

Someone pounded on the door.

"I'll be there in a moment," Hagrid called out. We all hurried to the back door, but Harry and I turned back to face him.

"Hagrid, It'll be fine," Harry assured him.

"It'll be okay," I added.

All four of us snuck out the back door and hid behind some giant pumpkins in the pumpkin patch, watching the discussion going on inside the hut. It was interrupted when Hermione turned around to face the trees behind us, making us all snap our heads in that direction.

"What happened?" I asked, looking back at Hermione.

"I thought I just saw...never mind," she replied, shaking her head.

"Let's go," Ron said. We ran back up the hill, but stopped halfway to watch the execution. I know Hagrid said we shouldn't be seeing it, but I didn't care. The executioner made his way over to Buckbeak and raised the axe above his head, before letting it drop. I felt a pain in my heart as he did. Buckbeak was so nice. He didn't deserve this. I buried my face in Harry's chest, beginning to cry, and I could hear Hermione shedding a few tears as well.

"He bit me! Scabbers!" Ron suddenly exclaimed. We all looked in his direction, only to see him running away from us.

"Ron? Ron!" Hermione almost yelled.

"Scabbers, come back!" Ron pleaded. He tripped and fell over near the Whomping Willow and picked up Scabbers. _Oh, no._ I didn't want to think about what that tree would do to him, especially after what happened last year with Mr. Weasley's Ford Anglia.

"Harry, Cassia, you do realize what tree this is," Hermione panted.

Harry's eyes widened. "That's not good. Ron! Run!"

Ron looked up at us, and then his eyes went wide with fear. "Harry, Hermione, Cassia, run! It's the Grim!" He pointed a shaky finger behind us.

The three of us turned around to see a vicious-looking black dog. I couldn't tell who it was snarling at, us or Ron. It let out a single bark leapt right over us, heading straight for Ron. Then it grabbed Ron by the leg and dragged him away, into an underground cave. We tried to chase after the dog to try and grab Ron's hand, but the dog was way too fast.

"Ron!" Harry exclaimed.

"Let our friend go!" I yelled, hurling a fireball into the mouth of the cave. I knew I missed, because I didn't hear the sound of the 'Grim' dog whimpering or letting go of Ron. As if that wasn't bad enough, one of the Whomping Willow's branches whacked us all in the gut, knocking us back several feet away from the cave. Luckily, none of us weren't hurt.

"Did you get it?" Hermione asked, looking over at me.

I buried my face in my hands. "No..." I was both frustrated and disappointed in myself right now. Ugh! Why did you have to miss, Cassia?! "I'm sorry, I tried," I apologized.

My brother and my best girl friend crawled over and engulfed me into a group hug. "It's okay, sis," Harry reassured me, though I could hear the concern for Ron in his voice.

"No...no, it isn't," I whispered, shaking my head as I felt myself starting to cry. "I could've saved him, but I missed. Who knows what'll happen to Ron now?"

"Cassi, listen to me. It's not your fault," Hermione said as she started to rub my back in an attempt to calm me down.

I still felt really guilty for not being able to save Ron, but Harry and Hermione made me feel a little better. Our group hug was cut short when we heard Ron screaming. I heaved a sigh of relief. He was alive.

Harry leapt to his feet. "Come on," he said, beckoning us to follow him. We ran towards the cave, trying our best to avoid the branches swinging at us from every direction.

"Move!" I yelled, pulling us out of the way of an oncoming branch. It slammed down in between Hermione and I, barely missing our heads. Another one came straight at us, even faster than the first branch. It was a miracle we were able to dodge that one.

"Duck!" Hermione warned us.

I was able to avoid the branch swinging at me, but Harry wasn't so lucky. It hit him and he flew back at least 3 feet. A lower one came at Hermione and I, trying to trip us. We managed to jump over it, but the branch coming after it got us. It took all the upper-arm strength we had to hold on, because the branch thrashed around like crazy, trying to buck us off. It swing straight up and then down towards the tree itself. I had to keep my head down to avoid taking twigs to the face. Soon, my arms gave out and I couldn't hold on any longer, and I was forced to let go of the branch. I dropped to the ground, landing - miraculously - right next to the cave.

"Okay, that's just pure luck," I muttered to myself as I shook my arms out, trying to get the blood circulating in them again. I looked up once I heard my brother screaming. Hermione was still on the Willow's branch, and she had Harry by his shirt collar, basically pulling him around like a rag doll. But it didn't last for very long. She lost her grip on Harry and he fell right into the cave.

I ran in and helped him stand up. "You okay?"

"Yeah...just a little winded," he replied.

Hermione soon fell into the cave, landing at our feet. My brother and I immediately grabbed her hands and helped her to her feet.

"Thanks," she said.

"No problem," Harry and I replied (once again, in unison).

"Where do you suppose this goes?" Hermione asked, eyeing the path in front of us.

"I have a hunch. I just hope I'm wrong," Harry replied.

* * *

We advanced deeper into the cave, only to find a dead end in a matter of minutes. For a moment, we were stumped. Then we looked up and saw a trapdoor above us.

Hermione pushed it open, emitting a loud creak. Okay, that was a little spooky. "We're in the Shrieking Shack...aren't we?" she questioned.

The three of us exchanged worried looks with each other. Hearing Ron scream again confirmed our suspicions. _Yep, we're definitely in the Shrieking Shack._ It sounded like he was upstairs. We climbed the stairs and found him in a bedroom, sitting in an old-looking chair. His leg had a really nasty bite on it. Hermione, Harry, and I all rushed over to him.

"Ron, are you okay?" Hermione asked.

"Where's the dog? Where is he?" Harry added.

"Harry, Cassia, it's a trap. He's the dog! And he's an Animagus!" Ron cried, pointing behind us.

We looked behind us and saw several muddy pawprints leading straight for the door. There, in tattered rags, was Sirius Black, mine and Harry's godfather.


	42. Harry & I meet our godfather

**Cassia's POV**

Hermione stood in front of Harry and I, protecting us. "If you want to kill Harry and Cassia, you'll have to kill us, too!" she threatened.

"No," Sirius refused, "Only _one_ will die tonight."

"Then it'll be you!" Harry yelled. He and I tackled Sirius to the ground. I took his hands and pinned them above his head with my legs, while also using one arm to keep them pinned down. My wand was in my other hand and I had it pointing at his temple. Harry, on the other hand, was basically straddling him. He also pointed his wand, but unlike me, he pointed it at the man's heart.

Sirius only chuckled. "Are you going to kill me, children?" He didn't look the least bit scared.

"Don't think we won't," I hissed.

But before either of us could say a single spell, the door burst open and Lupin came in. " _Expelliarmus_!" Mine and Harry's wands flew from our grasp. Lupin came closer to Sirius, taking in his appearance. "Well, well, Sirius, looking rather ragged, aren't we? Finally, the flesh reflects the madness within." He kept his wand pointed as he spoke.

"Well, you'd know all about the 'madness within', wouldn't you, Remus?" Sirius retorted.

Lupin lowered his wand and offered out a hand. Sirius took it, letting Lupin help him to his feet. What happened next left us all gobsmacked. The two men embraced like they were brothers who hadn't seen each other in, like, forever.

"I've found them!" Sirius whispered, overjoyed.

Lupin nodded. "I know."

"Finally," Sirius whispered.

"I know," Lupin repeated.

"Let's kill him," Sirius said.

"NO!" Hermione shouted, "I trusted you! And all this time...you've been his friend." She pointed at Lupin. "He's a werewolf! That's why he's been missing classes!"

Lupin looked shocked. "How long have you known?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Since Professor Snape sent the essay," Hermione answered.

Surprisingly, Lupin wasn't mad. He seemed impressed by her figuring it out. "Well, Hermione, you really are the brightest witch of your age I've ever met."

"Enough talk, Remus! Come on, let's kill them!" Sirius butted in.

"Wait," Lupin ordered him.

"I did my waiting! 12 years of it, in Azkaban!" Sirius shouted.

Lupin eyed him for a moment before giving him his wand. "Very well. Kill him. But wait one more minute. Harry and Cassia have the right to know why."

"We _do_ know why, we're not stupid!" I snapped, pointing my wand at Sirius. "You betrayed our parents!"

"You're the reason they're dead!" Harry added.

"No, it wasn't him. Somebody _did_ betray your parents, but it was somebody who, until quite recently, I believed to be dead," Lupin corrected us.

"Who was it, then?" Harry asked.

"Peter Pettigrew!" Sirius answered. "And he's in this room right now! Come out, come out, Peter! Come out, come out and play!"

" _Expelliarmus_!" someone said, making Sirius' wand fly out of his hand. We all turned our heads to see Snape had just come in. He came closer to Sirius, aiming his wand at him.

"Ah yes, vengeance is sweet. How I hoped I'd be the one to catch you this time," he remarked, before glancing at Lupin. "I told Dumbledore you were helping an old friend into the castle. And now, here's the proof."

"Brilliant, Snape," Sirius commented, the sarcasm clear in his voice. "Once again, you've put your keen and penetrating mind to the task and, as usual, come to the wrong conclusion. Now, if you'll excuse us, Remus and I have some unfinished business to attend to."

"Give me a reason, I beg you," Snape challenged.

"Severus, don't be a fool," Lupin tried to reason with him.

"He can't help it. It's habit by now," Sirius added.

"Sirius, be quiet!" Lupin snapped.

"Be quiet yourself, Remus!" Sirius snapped back.

"Listen to you two, quarreling like an old married couple," Snape taunted.

"Why don't you run along and play with your chemistry set?" Sirius retorted.

Snape dug the tip of his wand into Sirius' throat. "I could do it, you know. But why deny the Dementors? They're so longing to see you," he said.

At this, Sirius looked absolutely horrified.

"Do I detect a flicker of fear?" Snape questioned. "Ah, yes. The Dementor's Kiss. One can only imagine what that must be like to endure. It's said to be nearly unbearable to witness, but I'll do my best."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Harry pull out Hermione's wand.

"After you," Remus beckoned.

Harry pointed Hermione's wand at Snape. " _Expelliarmus_!" Snape went flying into the wall and was knocked unconscious from the force of the spell's impact. Ron, Hermione, and I looked at him with a shocked expression. No way were any of us expecting _that._

"Harry, what did you just do?" Ron asked.

"You attacked a teacher!" Hermione exclaimed.

"That's not important right now!" I snapped at her. I pointed my wand at Lupin and Sirius. So did Harry.

"Tell us about Pettigrew," Harry demanded.

"He was at school with us. We thought he was our friend," Lupin replied.

Harry shook his head. "No, Pettigrew's dead."

"You killed him," I added, making eye contact with Sirius.

"No he didn't. I thought so, too, until you mentioned seeing Pettigrew on the map," Lupin denied.

"The map was lying, then," Harry assumed.

"The map never lies!" Sirius said, "Pettigrew's alive! And he's right there!" He pointed at Scabbers, making mine and Harry's eyes widen in surprise.

"Me? That's mental!" Ron exclaimed.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Not you! Your rat!"

Ron looked just as shocked as we did. "But Scabbers has been in my family for-"

Sirius cut him off. "12 years! Curiously long life for a common garden rat! He's missing a toe, isn't he?" He pointed at Scabbers again. When I looked closely, I saw that, sure enough, there was a toe missing on one of his feet.

"So what?" Ron said.

It started to click in my mind. I looked over at Harry. "Remember what they said about Pettigrew?"

"All they could find was his-" Harry started to say, realizing it as well.

"-finger!" Sirius finished his sentence, "The dally coward cut it off so that everyone would think he was dead! And then he transformed into a rat!"

"Show us," Harry demanded.

Sirius tried to grab Scabbers, but Ron wouldn't let go of him.

"Will you just give it to him already, Ron?!" I snapped.

After an almost-tug-of-war over Scabbers, Sirius finally managed to wrestle him out of Ron's grasp.

"What are you trying to do with him? Scabbers! Leave him alone!" Ron protested.

Sirius set Scabbers down on a nearby piano, only to have him run away. Both Remus and Sirius tried to turn Scabbers human, but to no avail. But finally, as Scabbers jumped into a hole, Sirius shot a spell at him, turning him into a human. As Lupin and Sirius pulled Pettigrew out of the hole, Harry and I saw he was a very ugly-looking man indeed. He certainly acted like a rat, the way he held his hands up to his face. _How fitting. The man who ratted us out to Voldemort is a rat Animagus._

Pettigrew looked at Sirius and Lupin for a moment, and his eyes seemed to light up. "R-Remus? S-Sirius? My old friends!" he exclaimed. He tried to run, but Lupin and Sirius blocked him. With no way of escaping now, he staggered over to us and got really close to Harry. "Harry...look at you! You look so much like your father, like James!" he said, practically gushing over my brother. Sirius tried to yank him back, but failed. Pettigrew then came over to me. "And Cassia, how lovely you've become! It's as though I'm seeing Lily again!" he said, stroking the side of my face and running a hand through my hair. I instantly felt really uncomfortable.

Thankfully, that feeling didn't last long, because Sirius yanked Pettigrew into a corner of the room, away from me. "How dare you speak to Harry and Cassia! How dare you talk about James and Lily in front of them!" he snapped.

"You sold James and Lily to Voldemort, didn't you?" Lupin chimed in.

"I didn't mean to," Pettigrew wailed, "The Dark Lord...you have no idea of the weapons he possesses." He looked at Sirius. "What would you have done, Sirius? What would you have done?"

"I would've died! I would've died rather than betray my friends, as we would've done for you!" Sirius yelled.

Pettigrew rushed over to Harry and I again. "Harry, Cassia, your dad wouldn't have wanted me killed! Your dad - your dad would've spared me. He would've shown me mercy!" Once again, he was yanked away from us. Remus and Sirius aimed their wands at him.

"Peter, you should have realized, if Voldemort didn't kill you, then we would! Together!" Sirius snapped.

This wasn't how it should end. Call me crazy, but we needed Pettigrew alive...for now.

"No!" Harry and I shouted at the same time. All eyes were on us now.

"Harry, Cassia, this man is-" Lupin started to protest.

"We know what he is," Harry said, cutting him off.

"But we've got a better idea," I added, "Let's take him back up to the castle."

"Bless you, children. Bless you," Pettigrew whimpered, holding onto my leg.

I kicked him in the chest. "Don't touch me, you little rat-faced creep!"

"She said we'll take you to the castle. After that, the Dementors can have you," Harry said.

Pettigrew looked genuinely horrified at this news, but none of us felt any remorse for him. Not even Harry and I. He betrayed our parents and framed an innocent man. He needed to pay.

* * *

"Sorry about the bite. Reckon that it twinges a bit," Sirius apologized as we made our way out of the Shrieking Shack. He and Harry were helping Ron, while Lupin was right behind them, holding Pettigrew roughly by the arm. Hermione and I brought up the rear.

"A bit? A bit?! You almost tore my leg off!" Ron exclaimed.

"I _was_ going for the rat," Sirius defended himself. "Normally, I have a very sweet disposition as a dog. In fact, more than once, James suggested that I make the change permanent. The tail, I could live with. But the fleas...they're murder."

We came out right by the Whomping Willow. Thankfully, we weren't within hitting distance of the branches. While Hermione was looking at Ron's bite mark, Harry and I went to check with Sirius, who was looking up at the castle in wonder.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he remarked, "I'll never forget the first time I walked through those doors. It'll be nice to do it again as a free man," He faced us. "That was a very noble thing you both did back there. He doesn't deserve it."

"Well, I don't think Dad would have wanted his two best friends to become killers," Harry replied.

I nodded in agreement. "Besides, if you're dead, the truth dies with you. Alive, you're free."

Sirius sighed. "Harry, I can understand if you choose to stay with your aunt and uncle. And if you wish to stay with Ted and Andromeda, Cassia. But if you ever wanted a different home..." he trailed off.

"What? Come and live with you?" Harry questioned.

"Well...I can understand if you don't want to," Sirius replied.

"Harry, Cassia!" Hermione shouted, preventing us from answering our godfather. We all looked at her and saw she was pointing to the moon. It was a full moon. _Oh, no._ Lupin began to transform.

Sirius rushed over to him. "Have you taken your potion, Remus?" he asked. I knew immediately he was referring to the Wolfsbane Potion. During that one DADA class where Snape filled in for Lupin, he told us how Wolfsbane Potion helps with the werewolf transformation. It allows the werewolf to maintain their human mind. And apparently, Remus hadn't taken it tonight. Sirius kept trying to comfort him, but it was no use. Lupin was becoming more beast-like by the second. I felt so bad for him, watching him transform. I can only imagine how painful it must've been.

Pettigrew raised his wand, ready to kill both men, but Harry disarmed him. Unfortunately, Pettigrew turned back into a rat and ran away.

Sirius shouted at us to run, but none of us could move. We were frozen in shock. The pain in my head grew worse. Soon enough, the transformation finished and Lupin was whimpering, with his paws over his face.

"Wait..." Hermione whispered. She slowly edged closer to Lupin.

Ron looked even more scared than Harry and I did, especially because he kept whispering "Bad idea".

"Professor? Professor Lupin?" Hermione addressed the werewolf.

Lupin took one look at her and then howled. This was _definitely_ not good.

"Nice doggy...nice doggy," Ron whimpered as Lupin started to advance on us.

Just then, Snape showed up. "There you are, Potters!" A loud roar from Lupin cut him off. He turned to face him, only to receive a claw to the face. Hermione screamed.

Only moments before we were attacked, a black dog attacked Lupin. Harry and I Knew immediately that it was Sirius. The two circled each other before Sirius went for it and jumped on Lupin. They wrestled each other, Sirius sustaining more damage than Lupin, much to our shock.

"Sirius!" Harry and I said at the same time. We broke away from Ron and Hermione, ignoring Snape snapping at us to come back, and raced over to Lupin. Harry threw a rock at the werewolf, who turned to us and roared. I squeezed Harry's hand and shut my eyes tight, bracing myself for the oncoming blow, but it never came. Someone howled in the distance, twice. It sounded almost too human to be a werewolf, but Lupin believed it was one. He took off in the direction of the sound.

Sirius turned back into his human form, staggering off. Harry and I rushed into the forest after him and found him unconscious at the edge of a lake.

"Sirius! No...Sirius!" Harry begged, shaking him lightly.

I shook my head, tears stinging my eyes. "Sirius, speak to us!"

Sirius' eyes suddenly snapped open and he gasped in fear at the sight above him.

Harry and I looked up to see countless Dementors circling up above us. My head started hurting again, the worst of it right where my scar was. One of the Dementors swooped down and attacked Sirius. I gasped, the pain in my head growing worse.

Harry whipped out his wand. " _Expecto Patronum_!" A bright light in the form of a shield came out of the tip of his wand. It only repelled the Dementors for a second, though. Two Dementors fed on it and the shield vanished. I ducked my head for cover just as I heard another Dementor dive towards us.

This time, Harry screamed in pain. I bit my lip to keep from screaming as well. The pain in my head was awful! It felt like a bludger had just cracked my skull.

More Dementors converged and attacked all three of us. Sirius lost consciousness entirely after they stopped feeding. I checked his neck for a pulse. Luckily, I found one, but it was weakening. He was dying.

Looking up, I could see the Dementors surrounding us, starting to close in for the final kill. This was it, this was where we would all die. Harry put an arm around me, supporting me. The pain in my head had decreased a bit, but it was still strong.

Before it all ended, a bright light - no, _two_ bright lights - coming from the other side of the lake caught my eye. Somehow I knew Harry could see them as well. Slowly, the lights started to take shape. They weren't just lights anymore. They were deer. One was a stag, and the other was a doe. Both deer emitted a bright light, sending all the Dementors far away from us. Harry and I were both in shock. Just as the bright light subsided, Sirius gasped and his eyes shot open. His breathing was labored, but he was alive. He closed his eyes again, losing consciousness.

As the stag and doe faded away, Harry and I could just barely make out the outline of a man and a woman - maybe Mum and Dad - before we both passed out cold.


	43. Time-Turner

**Cassia's POV**

"Harry, Cassia," I heard Hermione calling mine and my brother's name. Using all the strength I could muster, I opened my eyes. We were in the hospital wing. The pain in my head was long gone. My hair was a mess right now - the braid was barely held together - but that was the least of my problems at the moment.

"I saw our dad," Harry said. I glanced at him to see he was in the bed next to mine.

All at once, the memories of last night came flooding back into my mind. "And mum," I added.

"What?!" Hermione exclaimed.

"They scared the Dementors away," Harry said. I nodded in agreement and handed him his glasses.

Hermione seemed shocked, but she shook her head. "Listen, they've captured Sirius. Any moment, the Dementors are going to perform the Kiss."

I gasped, sitting up in a flash.

"You mean they're gonna kill him?" Harry asked, also sitting up.

"No, it's worse. Much worse," Hermione informed us, "They're going to suck out his soul."

Dumbledore came into the hospital wing just after she'd said this.

I rushed over to him. "Headmaster, you've got to stop them!"

"They've got the wrong man!" Hermione added, standing right next to me.

Harry gave a quick nod in agreement. "It's true, sir. Sirius is innocent."

"It was Scabbers who did it," Ron piped up.

Dumbledore gave Ron a confused look. "Scabbers?" he echoed.

Ron nodded. "He's my rat, sir. Well, he was a rat. He was my brother Percy's rat."

I shook my head and turned back to Dumbledore. "The point is, we know the truth. Please believe us."

"I do, Miss Potter. But I'm sorry to say the word of four thirteen-year-old wizards will convince few others," Dumbledore replied. He crossed over to Ron and patted his leg, causing Ron to whimper. "A child's voice, however honest and true, is meaningless to those who have forgotten to listen." He paused before walking closer towards the door. "Mysterious thing, time. Powerful, and when meddled with, dangerous. Sirius Black is in the topmost cell of the Dark tower." Dumbledore turned to us. "You know the laws, Miss Granger. You must not be seen. And you would do well, I feel, to return before this last chime. If not, the consequences are too ghastly to discuss. If you succeed tonight, more than one innocent life may be spared. Three turns should do it." He turned to leave, but stopped again. "Oh, by the way, when in doubt, I find retracing my steps to be a wise place to begin." With that, he left, closing and locking the door behind him.

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Ron asked.

"Sorry, Ron, but seems as if you can't walk," Hermione apologized. She pulled out a necklace with a long chain and wrapped it around herself, Harry, and I. Harry reached up to touch the pendant, but his hand was slapped.

Everything quickly became a blur. It felt like the room was spinning rapidly. When it finally stopped, Ron was missing. It was like we had never been brought in here.

"What happened? Where's Ron?" Harry asked, looking around.

"It's seven-thirty. Where were we at seven-thirty?" Hermione asked.

"I dunno. Going to Hagrid's," Harry suggested.

"Come on! And we can't be seen!" Hermione urged, grabbing our hands and pulling us out of the hospital wing.

"Hermione!" I panted. But she didn't stop. She took us through numerous corridors, past the courtyard where the executioner was sharpening his blade, and across the bridge connecting the castle to the rest of the grounds.

"Hermione, wait! Hermione, will you please tell us what's happening?" Harry asked as we came to a stop at the end of the bridge.

I looked ahead of us, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Hermione and I were giving Malfoy a beatdown, just like last evening. Then I realized that it was us, only we were in the past. "That's us..."

"This is not normal," Harry added.

Hermione pulled us back - out of sight of Malfoy - and showed us her pendant. It was of a circular shape, with a small hourglass on it. "This is a time-turner, guys. McGonagall gave it to me first term. This is how I've been getting to my lessons all year," she explained.

"You mean you've gone back in time?" I asked.

Hermione nodded. "Yes. Dumbledore obviously wanted us to return to this moment." She peered out at the past 'us'. "Clearly, something happened he wants us to change..." she said.

I bit my lip to hold back a laugh when the past Hermione punched Malfoy in the face.

"Good punch," Harry complimented.

"Thanks," Hermione replied. Her eyes widened. "Malfoy's coming!"

We jumped out the window and hid behind one of the outside walls of the bridge. Once Hermione was sure the coast was clear, we headed over to the stone Malfoy had previously been backed up against. My eyes widened when I saw Buckbeak, alive and breathing.

"Look! Buckbeak's still alive!" Harry pointed out, sounding just as surprised as I was.

Then Dumbledore's words from before popped into my head. "Of course! Remember what Dumbledore said? If we succeed-" I started.

"-more than one innocent life could be spared," Hermione finished my sentence.

* * *

We raced to Hagrid's hut and crouched behind the pumpkins.

Harry peered out and saw Buckbeak. He turned back to us. "We'd better hurry."

I held him back. "Fudge has to see Buckbeak before we steal him. Otherwise he'll think Hagrid set him free," I reminded him.

He nodded.

My blood boiled when I saw Hagrid hand Scabbers to Ron.

"That's Pettigrew," Harry muttered, sounding just as angry as I was. We started to stand up, ready to march right into the hut and strangle that little vermin to death.

"Harry, Cassia-" Hermione started to protest, grabbing my arm.

I looked at her with angry eyes. "Hermione, that's the git who betrayed our parents."

"You can't expect us to just sit here," Harry added.

Hermione pulled us back down just as we stood up again. "Yes, and you must! Listen to me. You're in Hagrid's hut now. If you just go bursting in, you'll think you've gone mad. Awful things happen to wizards who meddle with time, guys. We _can't_ be seen."

I huffed. "Fine."

She peered out from behind one of the pumpkins. "Fudge is coming...but we aren't leaving."

"Why aren't we leaving?" I asked, also peering out.

Hermione looked around and picked up a stone. She threw it and it broke a vase inside the hut.

My jaw dropped. "Are you insane?!" I whisper-snapped.

Hermione ignored me and threw another rock, hitting Past Harry in the back of the head.

Harry rubbed the back of his head. "That hurt," he muttered.

"Sorry," Hermione apologized.

I peered out again. "We're coming out the back door. Go! Go!"

We hid behind some pine trees in the woods.

Hermione peered out from behind one of the trees. "Is that really what my hair looks like from the back?" A twig suddenly snapped under her feet.

"Hermione!" I hissed.

We hid behind the trees again. The sound of retreating footsteps several moments later told me that we were okay. For now.

"Okay. Go! Go!" Hermione ordered, giving Harry and I a little shove.

I grabbed Harry's hand and we slowly advanced towards Buckbeak. We bowed, and he bowed back.

Some crows pecked at our feet. Harry kicked one, hissing, "Get off!"

The crows backed up enough for us to get to the wooden post where Buckbeak's chains were. We managed to get the chains loose, but now came the tricky part: getting Buckbeak to come with us.

"Okay, Buckbeak. Come on. We have to go," Harry urged, giving the chains a tug.

All Buckbeak did was caw in reply. I glanced at Hagrid's hut. Dumbledore and the others didn't see us. _Okay so far._

"Keep trying," Hermione whispered.

I held part of the chains. "Buckbeak, quickly. Hurry up!"

We tugged a few more times, only to have Buckbeak make a very loud noise. Luckily, no one in Hagrid's hut looked out the window, or else we would've been in _big_ trouble. Dumbledore and Fudge were probably discussing some business or something.

Hermione rushed over with a string of dead animals on her neck. She held one of the furry things out to Buckbeak. "Come on, Buckbeak! Come and get the nice dead ferret."

At this, Buckbeak immediately stood up. We coaxed him halfway back to the trees, but he ate one of the dead ferrets. Hermione and I gasped, putting our hands up in surrender. Luckily, no one had seen. Dumbledore and Fudge just continued to talk.

"Come on. Let's go, Buckbeak," I urged, tugging on the chains. We made it into the forest and hid behind some trees, just as the men came out of the hut.

Fudge looked towards the pumpkins. "Well, where is it? I saw the beast just now!" He looked around, starting to panic a little. "We must search the grounds!"

"Well, search the _skies_ if you must, Minister," Dumbledore suggested. He turned to face Hagrid. "Meanwhile, I'd like a nice cup of tea, or a large brandy." Then he looked at the executioner. "Oh, and Executioner, your services are no longer required."

As Hagrid and Dumbledore headed back into the hut, I heard Hagrid mutter "You'll find no small glasses in _this_ house."

The executioner walked over to the pumpkin patch and chopped one of the pumpkins.

* * *

Harry, Hermione, Buckbeak, and I ran through the forest, until we could see the Whomping Willow in the distance.

I noticed Professor Lupin walk straight up to the tree. "There's Professor Lupin..."

Lupin pulled out his wand and used a Freezing Charm on the Whomping Willow, just as its branches leaned in his direction. And then he just disappeared, under the base of the tree.

"And now we wait?" I asked.

Hermione nodded. "And now we wait."

We sat down on the grass, waiting for what felt like hours. As the sky slowly became dark, a group of bats flew over us and I shielded my head with my arms. I heard Buckbeak cawing from behind us, and I turned around to see him nipping at the bats.

"At least _someone's_ enjoying himself," Hermione remarked. Sarcasm.

"Hermione, down by the lake, when Cassia and I were with Sirius, we saw two people. Those people made the Dementors go away," Harry said to Hermione.

Hermione looked at us. "With a Patronus?"

Harry and I nodded.

"I heard Snape telling Dumbledore that, according to him, only a really powerful wizard could have conjured it," Hermione told us.

"Harry and I think it was our parents," I guessed.

"But Harry, Cassia, your parents are-" Hermione started protest.

"Dead," my brother and I said in unison, cutting her off.

"We know. I'm just telling you what we saw," Harry said.

I turned my attention back to the Whomping Willow and saw us coming out of the Shrieking Shack. "Here we come."

Harry glanced at Sirius talking to both of us, and faced Hermione. "You see Sirius talking to us there?"

Hermione nodded.

"He's asking us to come and live with him," I jumped in.

"That's wonderful," Hermione remarked.

Harry smiled. "Yeah. When we free him, I'll never have to go back to the Dursleys. We could live in the country, some place where you can see the sky."

I nodded and made eye contact with Harry. "I think he'll like that after all those years in Azkaban."

We then heard Past Hermione calling our names, followed by a howl from Lupin. Sirius was shouting at us to run. Then the past Hermione screamed, which meant Snape had gotten clawed.

"Let's go," Hermione urged us.

We raced through the woods, getting a little bit closer to the fight, but staying back far enough so that we wouldn't be seen by anyone. Harry's past self had thrown a rock at werewolf Lupin. Lupin growled and advanced onto him. Right before he could swipe the past 'us' with a claw, Hermione put both hands around her mouth and howled.

I grabbed her arm. "What are you doing?!"

"Saving your lives," she replied, before howling again. Lupin turned towards 'us'.

"Thanks," Harry muttered. And then things got worse- Lupin started running in our direction.

"Nice going, 'Mione, now he's coming for us," I remarked.

Hermione had a look on her face that was a mix between guilty and scared. "Yeah, didn't think about that. Run!"

We ran through the forest as fast as our legs could carry us. Harry tripped over a tree root, but I helped him up quickly, before continuing to run until we were out of breath. The three of us hid behind a large tree and tried to keep as quiet as possible. I considered it a miracle that we found a tree with a large enough trunk to give us all concealment. My heart pounded as Lupin roamed around, looking for us. He howled, and then it sounded like he'd ran away. Cautiously, we edged out from behind the tree and backed up, but a growl sent chills down my spine. We turned around to see Lupin snarling at us. But before he could attack, Buckbeak rushed right in front of us, rearing up on his hind legs. He beat his wings and cawed, scaring Lupin away.

Hermione buried her face in mine and Harry's chests, whimpering. "That was so scary."

"Poor Professor Lupin," I said.

"He's having a really tough night," Harry agreed.

Suddenly a gust of wind blew our way, and I felt that familiar headache I get when danger is present. Looking up, we saw the Dementors flying over us.

"Sirius," Harry and I muttered at the same time.

We raced to the lake and hid behind some trees, watching the past Harry, Sirius, and I suffer excruciating pain.

"This is horrible," Hermione said, "And Cassia, you're in so much pain."

"Don't remind me," I complained.

"Don't worry. Our parents will come. They'll conjure the Patronus," Harry assured her.

I pointed to the spot where we had seen the stag and doe appear. "Right there. You'll see."

"Harry, Cassia, listen to me. No one's coming," Hermione told us.

"Don't worry. They will. They will come," Harry assured her. But as the painstakingly-slow minutes passed, Hermione proved to be right. Nobody came. My head hurt more when the Dementors got Harry and Sirius. Sirius was now unconscious, but he looked like he could have been dead right then and there.

"You're dying. All of you," Hermione said.

I suddenly had the urge to jump in and save them. Apparently, Harry had the same idea, because we both raced out to the water's edge - despite Hermione's protests - and whipped out our wands. " _EXPECTO PATRONUM_!" we both shouted. Bright light emitted from both of our wands, taking the form of a stag and a doe. When the light faded away, mine and Harry's past selves passed out. Harry and I looked at each other, realization starting to sink in.

* * *

We all got on Buckbeak and took off, heading for the top of the Dark Tower.

"You were right, Hermione!" I exclaimed, "It wasn't our parents Harry and I saw down by the lake!"

"It was us- we saw _ourselves_ conjuring the Patronus before! I knew we could do it this time because...well, we'd already done it! Does that make sense?" Harry added.

"No! But I don't like fly-AAAAAAAAAAAH!" Hermione didn't get to finish that sentence due to her screaming when Buckbeak did a dive, while Harry and I were cheering like maniacs.

We landed at the top of the tower, right in front of Sirius' cell. Sirius' head snapped in our direction once we did.

Hermione whipped out her wand, pointing it at the lock on the cell door. " _Bombarda_!" The lock exploded, and the door swung open.

All four of us got on and flew away, with Sirius cheering as loud as Harry and I had previously done.

We landed in the middle of the courtyard.

Sirius pulled Harry and I aside, while Hermione stayed with Buckbeak. "I'll be forever grateful for this. To all of you," he said.

"I want to go with you," Harry protested.

"Me, too," I added.

Sirius smiles. "One day, perhaps. For now, my life will be too dangerous and unpredictable. Besides, you're needed here."

"But you're innocent," I pointed out.

He gently guided us to sit down and then knelt in front of us. "And you two know it. And for now, that'll do." He gave a small sigh. "I expect you're tired of hearing this, but the two of you look so like your father. Except for your eyes. You have-"

"We know. Mum's eyes," Harry interrupted him.

Sirius looked at me and stroked my cheek. Unlike with Pettigrew, his touch was warm and inviting, making me lean into his hand a little. "Wormtail may have been a traitor, but he was right about one thing. You do have your mother's beauty," he told me. "Looking at you, it's like I'm staring at a mini Lily."

I couldn't help letting out a giggle at his little joke.

He chuckled as well, before taking one of my hands and one of Harry's hands in his own. "It's cruel that I got to spend so much time with her and James, and so little with the two of you. But know this: the ones who love us never really leave us. And you can always find them in here." He put his hand over Harry's heart and then over my own.

We then walked back over to Hermione. She helped him mount Buckbeak. Before they took off, Sirius glanced at Hermione. "You really are the brightest witch of your age," he remarked. He gave the Hippogtiff a slight nudge with his legs, and they took a galloping start before becoming airborne. As we watched them fly into the night, the clock started chiming.

"We have to go," Hermione reminded us.

We raced to the hospital wing and saw Dumbledore had just closed the doors. _Wow, we just barely made it!_

"We did it. Sirius is free!" Harry exclaimed.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at us. "Did what?" he questioned, "Goodnight." He seemed confused, but I saw him wink at us, which indicated that he knew what we were talking about. I playfully rolled my eyes at him as he walked away, presumably back to his office.

We pushed open the doors to the hospital wing, and our past selves vanished.

Ron's eyes widened. "What're you guys doing over there? Earlier, I was talking to you _there_!" he pointed to where our past selves had been, "And now you're over _there_!" He pointed to the doorway.

Harry, Hermione, and I all exchanged looks, feigning confusion.

"What's he talking about?" Hermione asked.

Harry chuckled. "I dunno. Honestly, Ron, how could somebody be in two places at once?"

I giggled. "Harry's right, Ron. It's impossible."

Ron rolled his eyes at us, but there was no mistaking the grin on his face.


	44. Firebolt (End of 3rd Year)

**Cassia's POV**

The next day, Harry and I decided to go visit Professor Lupin. It was the last day of third year, and we wanted to see how he was doing after the werewolf incident.

Sure enough, he was in his office, but to our surprise, he was packing his belongings. He turned to face us once we reached the doorway. "Hello, Harry, Cassia. I saw you coming." He pointed his wand at the map.

"Y-You've been sacked?" Harry asked.

Lupin shook his head. "No. No, I resigned," he corrected us, ripping up a paper.

"Why?" I asked.

He sighed. "Well, it seems somebody let slip the nature of my condition. This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving and parents will not be wanting a...well, someone like me teaching their children." He stopped packing for a moment and looked at us. "Why do you look so miserable?"

"None of it made any difference. Pettigrew escaped," Harry replied.

Lupin looked pretty shocked at these words. "Didn't make any difference? Harry, Cassia, it made all the difference in the world. You uncovered the truth. You both saved an innocent man from a terrible fate. It made all the difference in the world." He walked up to us, map in hand. "Now, since I am no longer your teacher, I feel no harm whatsoever in giving this back to you. It is time for us to say goodbye, but I feel sure we'll meet again someday. Until then," he pointed his wand at the map, "Mischief managed." The map folded up and went blank again. With that, Professor Lupin left.

* * *

Harry and I headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Harry, wherever did you get it?" someone asked, coming up to my brother.

"Can I have a go? After you, of course?" Seamus asked.

Ron was leaning on a crutch, but he looked extremely guilty. "I'm sorry, Harry. I-I didn't mean to open it. It was badly wrapped, uh..." he fumbled. He pointed at the twins. "They made me do it."

"Did not!" the twins both objected at the same time.

A long, brown package in the shape of a broomstick was resting on the Gryffindor table. I helped Harry open it, and sure enough, there was a broomstick in there. One neither of us had ever seen before.

"It's a Firebolt! Fastest broom in the world," Seamus told us.

"Wonder who sent it," I said.

Hermione held up a Hippogriff feather. "This came with it."

Harry and I looked at each other and smiled. It was from Sirius.

We all ran out to the courtyard, Harry holding the broom.

"Go on, Harry! Try it out!" Dean encouraged us.

Fred handed me his broom. "Cass, why don't you race him?"

I looked at Harry, who nodded.

We both got on our brooms and took off into the sky, Harry screaming and laughing at the same time. He did beat me, but I didn't care, because we had so much fun racing each other and flying around in the sky.

* * *

About a month after school had let out for summer vacation, I was just sitting on my bed, reading the latest issue of Teen Vogue, with Cricket curled up against my side. I'd let Misty out of the house so she could go for a nice midday flight, stretch her wings a little bit.

I'd received letters from Harry, Ron, Hermione, Cedric, and Sirius. Ron said that Mrs. Weasley was wondering when Harry and I would be visiting the Burrow next, and who could blame her? Since we'd met Ron's mother, she'd practically adopted my brother and I.

Hermione, as usual, wanted me to get started on getting my supplies for the next year, but as usual, I ignored her. I wasn't going to get my books at the start of my summer break! That was usually something done the month before term started.

Sirius' letter basically said he was just checking in on his godson and goddaughter. He'd also mentioned that if any boys started giving me grief, they'd have to answer to his fists. Yep, he's already starting to become like a second father.

I had to explain in my letters to Cedric how it was Peter Pettigrew who had betrayed mine and Harry's parents, and not Sirius, like we'd previously thought. Cedric's response was one of utter shock, but he eventually believed me, and he promised to help us clear Sirius' name someday.

And last but certainly not least, I was owning back and forth with my brother. Harry's summer had not gotten off to a good start, to say the least. I knew this from the letters he'd sent me. Evidently, our cousin Dudley had to go on a diet because he'd "reached the size and weight of a young killer whale", according to the people at Dudley's private school, Smeltings. To make him feel better, Aunt Petunia had suggested the whole family go on a diet. But that didn't change the fact that Harry still got less good than our cousin did. Harry had sent blatant pleas for help to me, Hermione, Ron, Hagrid, and - of course - Sirius. So I'd basically raided the pantry, taking a bag of Oreos and owling them to my brother. Of course, I did give him something for our birthday as well. Andromeda had made devil's food cupcakes with peanut butter frosting that day, and I stuck one in a plastic container and owled it to Harry.

Anyway, back to today. While I was reading, I heard voices coming from downstairs. Three people were talking downstairs. I recognized the first voice as belonging to my adoptive sister, Dora. The second and third ones sounded like my parents. But I couldn't tell who the last person was. His voice was a little bit muffled.

Soon, I heard someone come up the stairs after almost tripping on them. _Well, that's definitely Dora._ She poked her head into my room. "Hey, Cassi, some guy who goes to Hogwarts is downstairs. He wants to talk to you."

"Did he say who he was?" I asked, putting down the magazine.

"Cedric Diggory," Dora replied. A playful grin formed on her face. "Seems like he has the hots for you..."

"Shut up, Dora," I muttered, my face turning at least three shades redder. I followed her downstairs and into the living room. There on the couch, talking with my adoptive parents, was Cedric. All three of them looked up once they saw Dora and I come in.

"Cassia, dear, Cedric was just talking about you," Andromeda said.

I started getting a little nervous on the inside.

"And...what exactly were you saying?"

"How amazing you are," Cedric answered.

Ted spoke up. "Cassia, Cedric has something he wants to tell you, but he thought it'd be best if he did so in private."

Cedric stood up and gently took my hand, leading me to the door. "Don't worry, sir. I'll make sure she gets back safely," he assured Ted.

* * *

We took a walk through a nearby park, before sitting down on a bench by the lake. There was a bit of an awkward silence between the two of us for a while. Neither one of us made eye contact with the other. I twiddled my thumbs nervously, waiting to hear what my friend sitting next to me had to say.

Cedric sighed, looking up at me. "Look, Cassia, we've known each other for a few years, and recently, I've, uh...I've started developing these...feelings for you."

Surprised, I looked up at him. "For how long?"

"About a month after school started up again. It was when you kissed me on the cheek," he admitted.

I was shocked. _He actually likes me back?_ So many thoughts were racing through my brain, I couldn't even keep track.

"Please, say something," Cedric pleaded.

"So I guess this means we're dating now, huh?" I guessed. The words basically just vomited out of me.

Cedric was confused at first, but then his expression changed to one of surprise. "You - you like me back?" he questioned.

I nodded, unable to contain my joy any longer. The next thing I knew, I was pouncing on him, capturing his lips with my own. He seemed taken aback by my actions, but he melted into the kiss almost immediately. Our tongues battled for dominance, but his won out. We were so distracted by the kissing that we didn't even notice us falling off the bench and onto the grass. As much as I wanted the kiss to last longer, the need to breathe forced us to pull apart.

"If we're going to be a couple, then I have to do this right," Cedric panted. "Cassia, will you go out with me?"

"Yes..." I said, trying to catch my breath. "And by the way, you're quite the kisser."

"You're not so bad yourself," Cedric replied.

I heaved a sigh of relief. "Phew! I thought I was a little rusty, with this being my first time kissing and all..."

Cedric nodded. "Understandable."

"I can only imagine how Harry and Sirius will react when we tell them about us," I mused.

"Don't worry, love. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Cedric assured me. "Besides, I can handle them."

I giggled, and leaned my head on his chest, inhaling the familiar scent of broomstick cleaner and pine trees that seemed to hang around him. Sure, the world isn't perfect, but this moment was. Lying on the grass, on top of my boyfriend - I can't believe I can call him that now! - without a care in the world.

 **End of Year 3**


	45. 4th Year: Cassia Potter

Hey guys, it's Cassia again! Twin sister of Harry Potter, also known as one of the Children Who Lived. My full name is Cassia Helena Potter, but everyone just calls me either Cassia, Cassi, or Cass. Harry does call me "baby sis", and sometimes "little sis", even though he's only 15 seconds older than me. Other times, it's just "sis".

Age:  
I am currently 14. Mine and Harry's birthday is July 31st, and on the zodiac calendar, that makes us each a leo. It also means that our birthstone is a ruby. Kind of apropos, because we are proud members of Gryffindor House, and Gryffindor colors are red and gold. That _and_ their symbol is the lion.

Personality:  
As far as personality goes, I'm usually a sweet person. Okay, more like a sweet & spicy person, since I can be very feisty and sassy at times, and I have a sarcastic streak. Not to brag, but I also have a pretty good sense of humor. Maybe not as good as the Weasley Twins, but I'm up there. I'm a Gryffindor, through and through- courageous, never afraid of a challenge, willing to fight for what I believe is right, and undyingly loyal. I would take a Killing Curse for my loved ones, and that includes my amazing twin brother, Harry, whom I'm proud to call my "better half" even though he says _I'm_ the better half.

Family:  
Our parents are - unfortunately - deceased. They were killed by Voldemort not too long after Harry and I were born. And it's all that filthy rat Peter Pettigrew's fault! If he hadn't handed us over to Voldemort, our parents would be alive! The closest thing Harry and I have to an actual family (besides each other) is our godfather, Sirius Black. Everyone thinks he's the reason our parents are dead because he allegedly revealed our location to Voldemort, but it was actually his friend Peter Pettigrew, who is a rat Animagus and had been posing as Percy Weasley's pet rat, Scabbers, who was then passed down to Ron. Harry lives with our rotten Muggle relatives, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, and they absolutely despise him. I, on the other hand, live with Ted and Andromeda Tonks, and their daughter/my adoptive sister Nymphadora. She hates her full name, so I just call her "Dora".

Blood Status:  
Because my mother was Muggle-born and my father was a Pureblood, that makes Harry and I Half-bloods. Although, to be honest, I could care less about blood status. That's not important to me, or to Harry.

House:  
I am in Gryffindor House!

Boyfriend:  
Last year, I started to fall in love with one of my close friends, Cedric Diggory. And little did I know that he was feeling the same way. Not too long after school let out for the summer, Cedric took me out to this breakfast place not too far from my house, and then he asked me out.

Friends:  
Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are my BFFs. And so is Harry. Sounds kind of weird, but Harry and I have been through thick and thin these past few years and we'll always have each other's backs.  
I get along really well with my Quidditch teammates, and most of my house. My only enemies at school, I would say, are the Slytherins. Especially - ugh! - Malfoy! Since day 1 of our first year at Hogwarts, he has gone out of his way to make mine and Harry's lives miserable. But I usually give him a taste of his own medicine.

Wand:  
My wand is 11 inches long and carved out of cedar wood, with a hybrid core of phoenix tears and phoenix feathers. Ollivander had told me that my wand's hybrid core is very rare, but powerful nonetheless.

Special Powers/Abilities:  
My former DADA professor, Remus Lupin, taught Harry and I how to perform the Patronus Charm last year so we could better defend ourselves against Dementors. Harry's Patronus is a stag, and mine is a doe.  
In second year, during the whole Chamber of Secrets fiasco, I discovered that I have elemental magic- I have the ability to manipulate fire. And in addition to that, I am capable of Legilimency to a slight degree, in that I can sense Harry's pain or if he is in trouble, and I can also sense when enemies are nearby.


	46. Chaos at the Quidditch World Cup

**Cassia's POV**

 _I opened my eyes to see that I was inside what looked like an old abandoned house. The window to my left gave a view of a graveyard just down the hill. Given that there were some stairs behind me, I could decipher that I was on the second floor. But aside from that, I had no idea where the hell I was. This house could be anywhere in Europe, or the world, for that matter. To make matters worse, I could feel a really painful headache coming on. It hurt the most in the area where my scar was. This meant one of two things: either Harry was in danger, or danger was present._

 _The room at the end of the hall sparked my curiosity. A light was on and the door was opened halfway. I could hear someone talking, but it sounded more like whispering because their tone was so quiet. I cautiously edged closer to the door so I could hear them better. At the same time, my headache only increased, and since Harry was nowhere in sight, I could only assume that the people in the room in front of me were enemies. One person was sitting in an armchair, which was facing away from me. Two other men stood in the room, looking at the person on said armchair._

 _Pretty soon, I heard footsteps heading in my direction. I turned around to see an elderly man coming up the stairs, with a flashlight in one hand and a walking stick in his other hand._

 _"Oh, no, no, no, my Lord Voldemort," I heard one of the men saying. I knew this wasn't good. "I only meant...p-perhaps, if we were to do it without them...?"_

 _"No! The boy and girl are everything! It cannot be done without them, and it WILL be done exactly as I say!" Voldemort shouted. When I squinted to get a closer look, I saw his hand was all bony. To add onto that, he sounded weak, like he'd lost his voice or something._

 _The other man - who was wearing a long leather coat - knelt down so he was face to face with the dark wizard who had murdered mine and Harry's parents. "I will not disappoint you, my Lord," he assured him._

 _"Good," Voldemort said, "First, gather our old comrades. Send them a s-sign."_

 _A hissing sound made me jump. The old man behind me jumped as well, because something was moving right beside him. I followed his gaze to see a large snake slithering across the floor. The reptile was about the size of a Burmese python. It went up onto the chair that Voldemort was sitting in, and hissed something to him in Parseltongue, with a feminine voice._

 _"Nagini tells me that the old Muggle caretaker is standing just outside the door," Voldemort informed his two followers. I tried to say or do something to intervene, but no words came out of my mouth, and my legs were frozen, unable to move._

 _Wormtail appeared in the doorway, frightening the old man and causing him to lift his hands in a form of surrender, as if to say 'I mean no harm'._

 _"Step aside, Wormtail, so I can give our guest a proper greeting," Voldemort ordered. "Avada Kedavra!" There was a flash of blinding green light. It struck the man, killing him instantaneously._

"Cassia! Cassia, wake up!" someone exclaimed, shaking my shoulders. I gasped and opened my eyes to see it was Ginny. My heart was pounding so hard that I thought it would jump out of my chest. I felt myself starting to hyperventilate. As hard as I tried to breathe normally, I couldn't. The dream had felt so real.

"It's okay, Cassi. It was just a nightmare," Ginny assured me, squeezing my hand tightly.

I squeezed her hand back as I took several deep breaths. _Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale._ Soon, my heart rate calmed down, and so did my heavy breathing.

"Thanks, Gin," I whispered, sending her a grateful smile.

She smiled in return. "No problem. Mum asked us to get dressed and go wake the boys."

"You get the twins, I'll get my brother and Ron," I said.

Ginny jumped off the bed and rushed down the hall to Fred and George's room.

I slid out from underneath the covers and rummaged through my trunk, which sat at the foot of my bed. My bag I'd gotten for the Cup was hanging on one of the posts next to me. I grabbed it and packed a water bottle that I'd filled the night before, and extra clothes in it. Luckily, Mrs. Weasley had put an Undetectable Extension Charm on the bag so that everything would fit. Then I picked out an outfit for the day and went into the bathroom, locking the door behind me, before getting dressed.

I checked myself over in the mirror, making sure my hair and my makeup were okay. Then I brushed my teeth and put my toothbrush and toothpaste into my bag, along with my pajamas, and exited the bathroom. Call me crazy for going sleeveless, but in my defense, we were basically hiking, in the middle of the summer! I'm not wearing long sleeves in August!

I then headed into the bedroom Harry shared with Ron. To my surprise, Harry was tossing and turning in his sleep. He was having a nightmare, same as me. I rushed over to his bed just as Hermione came into the room.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked, looking at me with concern in her face.

"I think Harry's having a nightmare. Kind of a coincidence, since I was, too," I answered. I started shaking Harry, trying to wake him up, but nothing happened.

Hermione sat on the other side of the bed and assisted me. "Harry! Harry!" she called his name. Nothing. He continued to thrash around in his sleep, gasping in pain (probably because his scar was hurting again, another detail he'd mentioned in his letters to me).

"Harry, wake up! Please, wake up!" I said, continuing to shake him.

Finally, after 30 more seconds, Harry jolted awake. I handed him his glasses and he put them on.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Cassia...Hermione...bad dream," he panted, trying to catch his breath. He then looked at Hermione. "When did you get here?"

"Just now," Hermione replied, "What about you guys?"

"Last night," Harry answered.

"Last week," I added.

Hermione went over to Ron's bed. "Wake up! Wake up, Ronald!" she hissed at Ron, really getting all up in his face.

Ron's eyes fluttered open, and his tired expression quickly became shocked as he yanked the covers up to his neck. "Bloody hell!"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, stop it! You have a tank top and pajama pants on!"

"Get dressed. And don't go back to sleep," Hermione practically demanded.

"Uh, Hermione..." I pointed to Ron, who - I just now noticed - was already falling asleep again.

Hermione looked at him and groaned frustratedly. "Come on, Ron!" she said, slapping his cheek to get him moving. "Your mother says breakfast's ready!"

Ron only sighed and plopped back on his bed, falling asleep almost immediately.

"Should one of us wake him up?" Harry asked me.

"I've got this," I assured him, grinning mischievously.

"I'm almost scared to ask..." Harry joked.

"Be right back..." I ran downstairs to the kitchen. Once there, I pulled my water bottle out of my bag and unscrewed the top. Then I opened the freezer and grabbed a handful of ice, stuffed it into my water bottle, and then quickly screwed the top back on. With that accomplished, I raced back up the stairs and into the boys' room. "If this doesn't get his arse up, nothing will," I said as I unscrewed the top of the water bottle.

Harry let out a mock gasp. "You wouldn't dare..."

I smirked. "Wanna bet?" With a simple flick of the wrist, I splashed Ron's face with the water.

Ron screamed like a little girl and literally fell off the bed.

"Good, you're up," I said.

"Bloody hell! That was freezing!" Ron exclaimed.

"You were the one who refused to get up," I pointed out, earning an eye roll from Ron.

"We'll meet you guys downstairs," Harry told me.

"It's him I'm worried about," I sarcastically commented, pointing at Ron.

"Ha ha, very funny," Ron grumbled.

* * *

On a happy note, I didn't have to worry about Ron falling asleep again, even though he was yawning quite a bit when he came down the stairs. Now we were hiking through the woods. Mr. Weasley had said we were meeting up with a friend of his, but given the fact that we had to get up at 4:30 AM and we'd been walking for over 3 hours, it felt like we were just going on a wild goose chase.

"Ron, where are we actually going?" Harry asked.

"I dunno..." Ron shrugged in reply.

"Hey Dad, where are we going?" he called ahead to Mr. Weasley.

"Haven't the foggiest!" Mr. Weasley called back to him. "Keep up!"

Pretty soon, we reached a small clearing. A short man wearing a large backpack and carrying a walking stick was waiting for us. I had to squint to get a better look at him, being that I was in the back of the group.

"Arthur! It's about time, son!" the man exclaimed.

"Sorry, Amos. Some of us had a bit of a sleepy start this morning," Mr. Weasley apologized, bringing us all to a stop. "This is Amos Diggory, everyone," he introduced the man to us. "Works with me at the Ministry, for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."

I started getting really nervous. _Oh Merlin, this is Cedric's dad, and I'm about to meet him for the first time! I hope he likes me. Will he like me? What if he doesn't approve of us dating?_

Speaking of my boyfriend, he jumped out of the tree that stood behind his father.

"Ceddy!" I exclaimed. My anxiety was temporarily alleviated as I sprinted up to him and basically threw my arms around him. The force of me hugging him almost knocked him to the ground, but he managed to stay on his feet.

He chuckled, wrapping his arms around me. "Hey, love." I felt him place a kiss on my temple.

"And I think you know his son Cedric here, right?" Mr. Weasley asked the others.

"Hi," Cedric greeted my brother and my friends, giving a friendly wave as he did.

Mr. Diggory peered good-naturedly around at all of us. "All these yours, Arthur?"

"Oh, no, only the redheads," Mr. Weasley answered, pointing out Ron, Ginny, and the twins. "This is Hermione, friend of Ron's - and Harry and Cassia, 2 other friends-"

"Merlin's beard..." said Mr. Diggory, his eyes widening. "Harry? Cassia? Harry and Cassia Potter?"

"Guilty..." I said sheepishly, raising a hand.

Mr. Diggory rushed over to Harry and I. "Great, great pleasure," he said, shaking our hands. "Ced's talked about you, of course. Told us all about playing against you last year...I said to him, I said - Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will...you beat Harry and Cassia Potter!"

Harry and I exchanged confused looks at each other. Neither one of us knew how to respond to this. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fred and George were scowling.

Cedric looked slightly embarrassed. "Harry fell off his broom, Dad. I told you, it was an accident..." he muttered.

"Yes, but you didn't fall off, did you?" Mr. Diggory roared genially, slapping my boyfriend on the back. "Always modest, our Ced, always a gentleman...but the best man won, I'm sure Harry'd say the same, wouldn't you, eh? One falls off his broom, one stays on, it doesn't take a genius to tell which one's the better flier!"

Since I knew Cedric wanted to introduce me to my father 'properly', I leaned close to Harry and whispered, "You go ahead, Harry. I'll be along in a minute."

Harry nodded understandingly and hurried to catch up with the rest of the group.

My hands started shaking uncontrollably. I was extremely nervous. I really wanted to make a good first impression on Mr. Diggory, and I wanted him to see that I was a good match for his son.

Cedric put his hands on my shoulders and started massaging them gently. "Shh...deep breaths, love. Deep breaths," he whispered. The feeling of his hands rubbing my shoulders was soothing. Within a few minutes, I was calmed down. "There we go..." he said.

"Thanks," I said, kissing him on the cheek.

"Don't worry about a thing, love. I know he'll like you," he assured me. He led me over to his father. "Dad, this is Cassia. My new girlfriend," he introduced me.

Mr. Diggory locked eyes with me, studying me. Then he looked at Cedric. "Ah, _this_ is the girl you told me you'd taken a fancy to..." he said. He was silent for a few moments before we heard him exclaim suddenly, "Well, I must say, son, you certainly have good taste!" He chuckled, nudging Cedric playfully in the ribs.

Cedric's cheeks turned bright red, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. "Dad, please stop," he muttered, clearly embarrassed.

"Thank you, Mr. Diggory," I replied, thanking him for the compliment.

Mr. Diggory shook his head. "No, no, none of this 'Mr. Diggory' nonsense. Call me Amos, my dear."

I felt like a massive weight had just been lifted off my shoulders. _He approves of us dating. Thank goodness!_

"Come on, love. Let's keep moving," Cedric whispered to me.

The three of us then caught up with the others, who were all - except Harry - surrounding an old boot. At once, I realized it was the Portkey Mr. Weasley was telling us about.

"Why are they all standing around that manky old boot?" Harry asked.

"That's not just any manky old boot, mate," Fred told him.

"It's a Portkey," George added.

"Time to go!" Amos told us.

"What's a Portkey?" Harry asked.

"I'll explain later," I said as we all lowered ourselves to the ground (with some difficulty due to our backpacks getting in the way) and placed a hand on the boot. Harry, however, seemed hesitant.

"Ready? After three! One...two..." Amos started to count down.

"Harry!" Mr. Weasley snapped.

"...Three!" Amos finished counting, just as Harry placed a hand on the boot.

I felt as though a hook behind my navel had jerked irresistibly forward - pretty uncomfortable feeling - and there was a bright flash of light as we all became airborne. My hand felt like it was magnetically stuck to the boot. I couldn't move it at all.

It seemed like we were in the air for hours, but it was only mere minutes before Amos suddenly said, "Let go, kids!" This earned him an incredulous look from both Ginny and Hermione.

"What?!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Let go!" Amos ordered.

I practically ripped my hand off the boot and we - Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Ron, the twins, and I - crashed to the ground. I thanked my lucky stars that none of us broke any bones from the impact. Amos, Cedric, and Mr. Weasley landed a bit more gracefully. And by that, I mean they drifted back down onto the ground, landing on their feet.

"I bet that cleared your sinuses, eh?" Amos mused.

I pushed myself up onto my feet and rushed over to Harry, holding a hand out to him.

"Thanks, sis," he thanked me as he took my hand and allowed me to pull him up.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah...traveling by Portkey is definitely going to take some getting used to," Harry answered. "So what exactly is a Portkey?"

"Wizard use it to teleport from one place to another. They use a specific spell to charm an ordinary object, and the object becomes a Portkey. All they have to do is touch it and hold on for a few seconds, and they're transported," I explained as we continued our trek.

Cedric appeared right beside me, intertwining his fingers with mine. "It could be an old boot, a bag...just about anything, really," he added.

After another hour of walking, we came to the top of a hill overlooking what appeared to be a campground, which I guessed was our destination. A countless number of tents stood all over the place, and there were some children flying around on toy brooms.

"Well, kids, welcome to the Quidditch World Cup!" Mr. Weasley announced to us.

"Well, kids, welcome to the Quidditch World Cup!" Mr. Weasley announced to us.

Amos turned to him. "Parting of the waves, I think, old chap. See you at the match." He started to walk in another direction.

"See you later, Cedric," Harry said, waving.

Cedric leaned down and planted a soft kiss on my lips. "I'll see you tonight at the match, alright, love?" He ran a hand through my hair as he spoke.

In response, I stood on tiptoe and kissed his nose, making him chuckle. He waved goodbye to us before walking away with his father to the tent assigned to them.

Mr. Weasley led us among the rows of tents until we found the one labeled 'Weasley'. He gestured to the open tent flaps. "Home sweet home."

One by one, everyone entered. Harry and I were last. I pulled the flap close to me and made a gesture at Harry. "After you," I said.

Harry chuckled. "Why, thank you," he replied in a fake posh accent as he stepped inside.

I went in right behind him. The tent was _way_ bigger than it appeared to be. It was basically the inside of a house, disguised as an ordinary camping tent.

Hermione and Ginny immediately made a break for the bedrooms. I could hear them giggling.

"Girls, choose a bunk and unpack," Mr. Weasley told them.

While Fred and George made themselves comfortable by sitting at the table and putting their feet up, Ron being Ron decided to go check out the kitchen.

"Ron, get out of the kitchen. We're all hungry," Mr. Weasley scolded him.

"Yeah, get out of the kitchen, Ron!" the twins chorused.

"Feet off the table!" Mr. Weasley scolded them.

"Feet off the table!" the twins copied him. They put their feet down, but once their father's back was turned, they put them right back up again.

"I love magic," Harry muttered.

I casually draped an arm around him. "You and me both." Five minutes of awkward silence passed before I decided to speak. "Harry, tell me the honest truth. Are you okay with me having a boyfriend?" I asked.

Harry's eyes met mine. "I wasn't at first, but that was just the protective older brother side of me, even though I'm not that much older than you. But I'm okay with it now. Cedric's a nice guy and I trust him, and I'm...I'm really happy you found love."

"Thank you, Harry," I said, letting my head rest on his shoulder.

* * *

When nightfall came, we met up with Cedric and his father, and made our way to the stadium where the match was being held. Our seats were literally at the top, so obviously there was a little stair-climbing involved. And by a little, I mean a LOT.

"Blimey, Dad, how far up are we?" Ron asked as we turned a corner and saw yet another flight of stairs.

"Well, put it this way..." we heard an unpleasant voice say from below us. We all looked down to see it was Lucius Malfoy and his bullying got of a son, Draco. "If it rains, you'll be the first to know," he said.

"Ugh, don't these guys have anything better to do than harass us?" I whispered to Harry and Cedric.

"Clearly not," Harry muttered.

"I never liked the Malfoys," Cedric agreed, "Always acting like they're better than everyone else, walking around with their noses in the air..."

"Welcome to the club," I remarked.

Cedric chuckled. "Draco so deserved that beatdown you and Hermione gave him, Cassia."

I smirked. "He's had it coming since first year."

"Father and I are in the Minister's Box, by personal invitation of Cornelius Fudge himself," Draco bragged.

Lucius blocked Draco off with his cane. "Don't boast, Draco. There's no need with these people," he scolded, eyeing us.

"Let's just keep moving," I whispered to the others.

We kept going up, but I felt something digging painfully into my shoe. I looked down to see it was the head of Lucius' snake cane. The head 'bit' down on both my shoe and Harry's.

"Do enjoy yourselves, won't you? While you can," Lucius said to us. His voice had this foreboding edge to it, like he was dropping hints that something was going to happen.

Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime to me, we reached the top section of the stands.

"Come on up, take your seats!" Mr. Weasley encouraged us. "Told you these seats would be worth waiting for!"

Looking down, I saw he was right. The top section was overlooking the entire pitch below, so we could see all the action.

"Come on!" George cheered.

Seven players wearing green and white uniforms flew onto the field.

"It's the Irish!" George exclaimed. He and George pointed out a few of the players, like Mullet and Troy. Above us, bright green fireworks exploded and took the shape of a leprechaun, which tipped its hat at us and started dancing a little jig while most of the crowd chanted "Irish! Irish! Irish!" over and over.

"Here come the Bulgarians!" Fred yelled as a stream of red entered my line of vision. Sure enough, players dressed all in red flew into the pitch. One of them started doing some tricks on his broom, showing off.

"Who's that?" Ginny asked, pointing to the guy.

"That, sis, is the best Seeker in the world!" George answered.

The crowd started chanting "Krum! Krum! Krum! Krum!" In that instant, I knew it was Victor Krum.

"KRUM!" Harry, Fred, George, and Ron all yelled.

"Good evening!" I heard Fudge announce, making the stadium quiet down. "As Minister for Magic, it gives me great pleasure to welcome each and every one of you to the final of the 422nd Quidditch World Cup! Let the match begin!"

And with that, the final was underway.

* * *

The match wound up being a nail-biter. Krum had caught the snitch, but Ireland was the winner. Fred and George had (idiotically) bet all their money on this happening) and the money they'd been rewarded with was fake. Currently, we were all inside the tent. Fred had an Irish flag draped over his shoulders as he and George did a little jig like the firework leprechaun had previously done.

"There's no one like Krum," Ron bragged.

"Krum?" Fred questioned.

"Dumb Krum?" George added.

"He's like a bird, the way he rides the wind," Ron boasted. "He's more than an athlete...he's an artist."

Fred threw the flag over Ron's face.

"Think you're in love, Ron," Ginny joked.

"Shut up," Ron muttered.

"Viktor, I love you," Fred crooned, grabbing Ron's hand.

George grabbed Ron's other hand and joined in the song. "Viktor, I do..."

"When we're apart, my heart beats only for you!" Harry and I jumped in, finishing the lyrics.

Shortly afterward, the sound of screaming coming from outside filled our ears.

"Sounds like the Irish have got their pride on," Fred remarked.

But he was wrong. Those weren't happy screams or cheers. They were screams of fear. Of pure terror. A burning pain in my head further confirmed that danger was present.

"Stop! Stop it!" Mr. Weasley snapped, taking the flag from Fred. "It's not the Irish. We've got to get out of here, now," he said. He pulled us all out of the tent. Fire surrounded us on all sides. "Get back to the Portkey, everybody, and stick together! Fred, George, Ginny's your responsibility!" Mr. Weasley ordered us.

We didn't think twice before running. Smoke was everywhere. I looked around, trying to find a clear path, and I saw this group of people wearing all black clothing and silver masks. They were lighting all the tents on fire and aiming curses left and right.

I glanced behind me to see Harry struggling to keep up. Without hesitation, I ran back to him and grabbed his hand. The two of us pushed our way through the crowd, trying to catch up to Hermione, Ron, Cedric, and the others, but we couldn't. To make things worse, we got knocked over and practically trampled by some people running away. That, combined with all the smoke everywhere, made us both black out.

* * *

When I came to, I saw someone walking amongst the ruins of the World Cup. From what I could see, it was a male, and he had a long, black jacket. I internally panicked. He was the guy I'd seen in my nightmare about Voldemort.

The man pulled out his wand and pointed it to the sky. " _Morsmorde_!" A green light appeared and took the form of a giant skull, with a snake coming out of its mouth. If my headache wasn't bad enough, it was ten times worse.

I crawled over to Harry and shook him. "Harry...Harry, wake up. We have to get out of here!"

Harry slowly opened his eyes, but then he shot straight up when he saw me. "Cass? What's wrong?" He looked around. "Where is everybody?"

"I don't know, but we have to get out of here. Now," I answered. I helped him to his feet and we ran as far away from the man as we could go before he could spot us. In the distance, I heard Cedric, Ron, and Hermione calling our names. Soon enough, they came running in our direction.

"We've been looking for you for ages! Thought we lost you!" Ron exclaimed.

Cedric pulled me into a tight hug. "Are you alright, love? Did they hurt you?" he asked, scanning me with his eyes for injuries.

"No. I'm fine. We're both fine," I replied, before attacking his lips with my own. I kissed him like my life depended on it. As much as we both enjoyed it, the need for oxygen forced us to pull apart.

"What's that?" Harry suddenly asked, looking up at the mark in the sky. A couple of seconds later, he was grunting in pain as he held his scar. I held mine as well. The pain in my head was twice as bad as his.

Several Ministry workers surrounded us and shouted, " _STUPEFY_!", which forced us all to duck for cover.

"Stop! That's my son!" I heard Mr. Weasley yell. He and Amos ran up to us, just as the other wizards ceased fire. "Ron, Harry, Cassia, Cedric,Hermione, are you alright?"

A middle-aged man wearing a bowler hat and a billowing cloak ran over, pointing his wand in our direction. "Which of you conjured it?" he asked.

"You can't possibly-" Mr. Weasley started to protest.

"Do not lie! You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!" the man snapped at us.

"Crime?" Harry and I echoed.

"Barty, they're just kids," Amos defended us.

"What crime?" Harry asked.

"The Dark Lord, Harry. That's his mark," Hermione whispered.

Harry and I exchanged knowing looks. "Voldemort..."

"Those people tonight, in their masks...they're his, too, aren't they? They're followers?" Harry asked.

"Death Eaters," Mr. Weasley responded.

"Follow me," the Ministry official ordered, starting to walk away.

"There was a man before," Harry said. He pointed to where we'd seen him. "There!"

"All of you, this way!" the official ordered.

"A man? Who?" Mr. Weasley asked as we all started following after the guy.

"I don't know," Harry replied.

"We didn't see his face," I added. I glanced back up at the sky, at the Dark Mark. Something bad was happening, and this was just the beginning.


	47. The Triwizard Tournament has begun

**Cassia's POV**

We were currently on the train, going back to Hogwarts. Harry and Ron sat across from Hermione and I; she and I were sitting facing backwards and the boys were sitting facing forwards. Cedric couldn't sit with me because he was a prefect and prefects have to sit in a special compartment. I was a little bummed, but then I got over it. I'd see him when we got off the train.

Hermione was reading a copy of the _Daily Prophet_. From what I could see when I glanced at the paper, the incident at the World Cup had made the front page. And they were _still_ trying to find the guy who'd conjured the Dark Mark. Whoever he was, he covered up his tracks good.

I propped my elbow against the glass wall near the open door to our compartment, letting my head rest against my palm. My head was absolutely killing me. The nightmare about Voldemort, combined with the overwhelming feeling of approaching danger, made it almost impossible for me to have a good night's sleep for the past few weeks. Harry wasn't doing too good either. Turns out, he had the same dream as me. Weird, right? At first, we just assumed it was a twin thing, like how we sometimes talk in unison like Fred and George, but that wasn't the case. So that left both of us to wonder, why were we having the same dream?

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" the trolley lady asked, stopping my train of thought.

I shook my head. "No thank you."

Hermione didn't respond. She just went on with reading the paper. My brother and Ron, on the other hand, both stood up, but while Ron went straight to the candy trolley, Harry just stood in the entryway.

"Packet of Drooble's, and a Licorice Wand," Ron requested. But then he counted his pocket money and then shook his head. "On second thought, just the Drooble's." The lady handed him the gum, and he thanked her before sitting back down.

"Two Pumpkin Pasties, please?" a girl requested. Even from where I was sitting, I could see her face. I knew who she was, because Cedric had told me about her. She was Cho Chang; a fifth-year Ravenclaw, captain and Seeker on her house Quidditch team, who just so happens to be Cedric's ex-girlfriend. They'd broken up prior to the end of last year. When I asked Cedric about it over the summer, he said it was a mutual decision - they'd agreed that they should see other people. Harry had this lovesick look in his eyes when he saw Cho. _OMG, my big bro has his first crush!_

The trolley lady handed Cho her candy, and Cho thanked her before walking away. She then turned to look at Harry. "Anything sweet for you, dear?" she asked.

Harry snapped out of his daze and then shook his head no. "Oh, no thank you. I'm not hungry." He then sat back down and the trolley lady wheeled to the next compartment.

"Someone's got a crush," I sing-songed.

"I do not, sis," Harry denied.

I rolled my eyes. "Denial..."

Harry just sighed, exasperated, knowing he wasn't going to win this one.

"This is horrible. How can the Ministry not know who conjured it? Wasn't there any security?" Hermione asked, looking up from her copy of the _Prophet_.

"Loads, according to Dad. That's what worries them so much. Happened right under their noses," Ron replied, around a mouthful of gum.

My scar stung a little bit, and apparently, Harry's did as well, because when I looked over at him, he had a hand over his scar, just like me.

Hermione looked at us. "They're hurting again, aren't they? Your scars?"

Harry and I didn't respond. Neither of us wanted her to see we were in pain, but she did. She put down the paper and leaned towards us. "You know Sirius will want to hear about this. What you both saw at the World Cup, _and_ the dream."

I gave her a slight nod, signaling to her that I agreed. "Do you want to write it or should I?" I asked Harry.

"You can. My handwriting's terrible," he offered.

So I grabbed a quill, an envelope, and a piece of parchment, and got to work writing the letter. Harry let me use one of his books as a hard surface.

 _Dear Sirius,_  
 _Not sure if you read the latest issue of the Daily Prophet, but the Quidditch World Cup turned into utter chaos. Someone - no one knows who, not even the Ministry - conjured the Dark Mark._  
 _Things with us aren't much better. As it turns out, Harry and I both had the same nightmare. Weird, right? It was about this old abandoned house, and Voldemort was in a room at the end of the hall. Wormtail was with him, along with a man we didn't recognize. They were talking about something that involved both of us. To quote Voldemort, "The boy and girl are everything! It cannot be done without them!" And worse, both of our scars hurt like you wouldn't believe. I can just tell that both these things are a bad sign._  
 _-Cassia_

Harry wrote Sirius' name on the envelope and put the letter inside it. We used Hedwig to send the message to our godfather, because Misty was asleep. She doesn't like long train rides, so she usually just tries to sleep it off.

* * *

After several long hours, we arrived at Hogwarts. Fortunately, I managed to get some sleep during the remainder of the train ride, after we'd sent Hedwig with the letter to Sirius. I thanked my lucky stars that it was a nightmare-free sleep.

Not too long after the carriages had taken us up to the castle, everyone started crowding on the bridge. Some of the students were pointing and gasping. A lot of them were way taller than me, so I had to jump to see what was going on. Sadly, due to my petite stature, I couldn't jump high enough.

Someone chuckled from behind me. I turned around to see it was my boyfriend Cedric. "Can't see?" he asked.

"Everyone else towers over me, so I have to jump up, but I guess I just can't jump that high," I replied.

"I've got an idea..." Cedric said. He bent forward. "Get on my back, love."

I went behind him and leapt onto his back, wrapping my arms around his neck. As he straightened back up, he grabbed onto my thighs to keep me steady. Now I could see what was going on. A huge carriage, pulled by winged horses, flew through the sky. When I looked down at the ground below, I could see Hagrid with two paddles in his hands, signaling the horses.

"Clear on the runway," Hagrid called. But he had to jump out of the way, because the horses made a sharp dive towards the ground.

Then this huge ship broke the surface of the Black Lake, and sailed closer to the shore before anchoring.

We were then rushed to the Great Hall. Once there, Cedric set me down and then sat with us at the Gryffindor table. Not that the teachers minded. They were okay with it, because Dumbledore encouraged inter-house friendships.

The Sorting Ceremony wasn't very long. At least half of the new first-years got into Gryffindor or Slytherin. Colin Creevey (aka our personal stalker) was so excited that his brother Dennis got into Gryffindor.

Dumbledore came up to the podium after the ceremony was over. "Well, now that we're all settled in and sorted, I'd like to make an announcement. This castle will not only be your home this year, but home to some very special guests as well. You see, Hogwarts has been chosen-" he was cut off by Filch running up to him and whispering something. When Filch rushed out of the hall, he continued. "Right. Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event: The Triwizard Tournament. For those of you who don't know, the Triwizard Tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school, a student is selected to compete. Now, let me be clear; if chosen, you stand alone. And trust me when I say, these contests are not for the faint-hearted. But more on that later. For now, please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, and their headmistress Madame Maxine."

The doors to the Great Hall opened, and a large group of girls wearing light blue uniforms that looked like they were made of silk walked in, followed by a woman so tall that she made Hagrid look like a dwarf.

"Blimey, that's one big woman," Seamus muttered as she walked up to the staff table.

Everyone applauded, and the Beauxbatons girls sat with the Ravenclaws. Madame Maxine held her hand to Dumbledore and he kissed it lightly before escorting her up to the staff table. Then he returned to the podium and announced, "And now, our friends from the north, please welcome the proud sons of Durmstrang, and their Highmaster Igor Karkaroff."

These boys dressed all in brown from head to toe came in. Behind them, a man dressed in a white coat adorned with brown faux fur entered, accompanied by a familiar face.

Ron recognized him first. "Blimey, it's him! Victor Krum!" he whisper-exclaimed to Harry, Hermione, Cedric, and I.

Karkaroff marched up to Dumbledore and the two embraced. Shortly after this, the start-of-term feast began.

* * *

After dinner was finished, Dumbledore came up for another announcement, presumably about the tournament. He stood next to a large gold case that must have been brought in during the feast. "Your attention, please," he announced, silencing the Great Hall. "I'd like to say a few words. Eternal glory. That is what awaits the student who wins the Triwizard Tournament. But to do so, that student must survive three tasks. Three extremely dangerous tasks."

"Wicked," I heard the twins mutter.

"For this reason, the Ministry has seen fit to impose a new rule. Please welcome to the stand the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Mr. Bartemius Crouch," Dumbledore added.

Storm clouds suddenly filled the ceiling above us, and I heard a loud boom. Thunder. But then, an old man carrying a walking stick pulled out his wand and aimed it at the ceiling, stopping the storm. The man put away his wand and nonchalantly walked up to the staff table. I found this a bit skeptical. He was acting like nothing had happened just now.

"Bloody hell..." Ron muttered, "That's Mad-Eye Moody."

Hermione glanced over at the man and then back at Ron. "Alastor Moody? The Auror?"

Harry seemed puzzled. "Auror?"

"Dark wizard catcher. Half the cells in Azkaban are filled thanks to him. He's supposed to be mad as a hatter these days, though," Ron explained.

I noticed Moody had an artificial eye, and for some reason, it seemed to focus itself on Harry and I. Moody quickly pulled out a hip flask and took a swig from it.

"What d'you suppose he's drinking?" Ron asked.

"I dunno, but I don't think it's pumpkin juice," Harry replied, a look of slight disgust crossing his features.

The middle-aged Ministry official I had seen at the World Cup came up to the podium. "After due consideration, the Ministry has concluded that, for their own safety, no student under the age of seventeen should be allowed to put forth their name for the Triwizard Tournament," he declared. Pretty much the entire Great Hall - save for Hermione, Harry, and I - started booing at this news.

"That's rubbish!" Fred and George yelled in unison.

Mr. Crouch put up his hands, as if saying "I give up".

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore roared.

The hall went quiet again.

Dumbledore lifted his wand and pointed it at the gold case, which caused it to melt away, revealing a large goblet with bluebell flames coming out of it. "The Goblet of Fire. Anyone wishing to submit their name for the tournament need only write their name on a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this hour on Thursday night. Do not do so lightly; if chosen, there is no turning back," Dumbledore warned us, "As of this moment, the Triwizard Tournament has begun."

Whoa. A huge tournament, with three schools, and three DANGEROUS tasks? This was _definitely_ bigger than the Sirius Black fiasco last year!


	48. Worst Day Ever

**Cassia's POV**

So far, the first few days of classes were pretty normal, but I doubted it would stay that way, especially with Mad-Eye Moody teaching DADA class.

Our first DADA class with him was on Thursday, and it was our last class of the day. The name submissions for the tournament were opening tonight as well, so you can probably imagine how excited we were.

When I got into the classroom, I immediately took a seat next to my brother. Hermione took the desk to the left, and Ron took the one to the right, so Harry and I were basically sandwiched in between them.

Moody entered the room and stood next to the chalkboard. "My name is Alastor Moody," he wrote 'Moody' on the board as he continued. "Ex-Auror, Ministry malcontent, and your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I'm here because Dumbledore asked me. End of story. Goodbye. The end. Any questions?"

No one dared to raise their hand.

"When it comes to the Dark Arts, I believe in a practical approach. But first, which of you can tell me how many Unforgivable Curses there are?" Moody asked.

Hermione, of course, was the first to volunteer to answer the question. "Three, sir," she said.

Moody turned back to the board and wrote '3', and then circled it. "And they are so named...?"

"Because they are unforgivable," Hermione answered again. "The use of any one of them will-" She was cut off.

"-earn you a one-way ticket to Azkaban. Correct!" Moody finished her sentence, writing 'Unforgivable' in all capital letters. He turned and faced the class once again. "The Ministry says you're too young to see what these Curses do. I say different! You need to know what you're up against! You need to be prepared! You need to find another place to put your chewing gum besides the underside of your desk, Mr. Finnegan!"

Seamus' eyes widened. "No way. The old codger can see out of the back of his head," he whispered to Dean, who was sitting next to him.

Moody responded by throwing a piece of chalk at him. "And hear across classrooms!" he roared. "So, which curse shall we see first?" His eyes fell on Ron. "Weasley!"

"Yes?" Ron squeaked. I didn't blame him for being scared; I would be too, if I were the one being called on right now instead of him.

"Stand!" Moody ordered.

Ron didn't hesitate to comply.

"Give us a curse," Moody said. His voice was way lower than it was a few seconds ago, when he'd yelled at Seamus.

"Well...m-my dad did tell me about one. The - The Imperius Curse," Ron stuttered.

Moody nodded. "Oh yes, your dad would know all about that one. Gave the Ministry quite a bit of grief at one time. Perhaps this will show you why," he said. He made his way over to a nearby desk with jars of bugs on it, and took out a spider, holding it in the palm of his hand. With his other hand, he pointed his wand at the arachnid and said, " _Engorgio_."

The spider nearly tripled in size. Now it was nearly the size of a Bludger.

" _Imperio_!" Moody said. As he moved his wand, the spider was lifted into the air and made to float from desk to desk. "Don't worry. Completely harmless," he assured us as he let the spider hover over Crabbe's head. "But if she bites-" he guided the spider to sit directly above Ron "-she's lethal!" he warned.

Malfoy sniggered at Ron, seeming to enjoy seeing him scared to death of the arachnid. Moody definitely didn't like that, because he looked at Malfoy with a piercing glare. "What are _you_ laughing at?" he asked. The grin on Malfoy's face completely vanished when the spider was made to jump onto his nose. All the Gryffindors (and a few of the Slytherins) in the room started cracking up.

"Talented, isn't she?" Moody boasted, "What shall I have her do next? Jump out the window?" He flicked his wand, making the spider smack against the window. "Drown herself?" The spider was forced to hover over a small bucket of water momentarily, but then Moody brought it back to sit in the palm of his hand. "Scores of witches and wizards have claimed that they only did You-Know-Who's bidding under the influence of the Imperius Curse," he told us, "But here's the rub. How do we sort out the liars?" He scanned the classroom. "Let's have another. Come on."

Hermione didn't raise her hand this time, but two or three other people did. Professor Moody took no notice of them, however. His attention was fixed on Neville. "Longbottom, isn't it?" he asked.

Neville hesitated a moment, but slowly rose to his feet.

"Professor Sprout tells me you have an aptitude for Herbology," Moody told him.

"T-There's the - the Cruciatus Curse," Neville stuttered. He was nervous, we could all tell, but he never broke eye contact.

"Correct, correct!" Moody said, "Come! Come!" He led Neville up to the desk, gently setting the spider down. "Particularly nasty. The Torture Curse." He aimed his wand at the spider. " _Crucio_!"

The spider let out a horrid screech, writhing in pain. Neville squeezed his eyes shut tightly, trying to block out the sound. His expression contorted into a pained one. I could see in his face that watching Moody torture this poor creature was too much for him to handle.

"Stop it! Can't you see it's bothering him? STOP IT!" Hermione shouted.

Moody took the curse off the spider. It stopped writhing and screeching, and seemed to sigh in relief. Neville looked just as relieved as he walked back to his seat next to Ron.

The spider was set down on Hermione's desk, right on top of her books.

"Perhaps you could give us the last Unforgivable Curse, Miss Granger," Professor Moody suggested.

Hermione shook her head. When I looked at her, I could see tears forming in her eyes.

Moody seemed surprised at her refusal. "No?" he questioned, earning no response from her.

He then pointed his wand at the spider and said " _Avada Kedavra_!" A blinding green light hit the spider, instantly killing it.

I felt chills running down my spine at the sight of the green light. That curse was the same curse I'd heard in my dream I had over the summer.

"The Killing Curse. Not nice. Not pleasant. And there's no counter curse. There's no blocking it," Professor Moody explained, "Only two people are known to have survived it. And they're sitting in this room." At that last sentence, his artificial eye fixed onto both me and Harry. "Now, if there's no countercurse, why am I showing you?" he asked. No one answered, so he continued. "Because you've got to know. You've got to appreciate what the worst is. You don't want to find yourself in a situation where you're facing it. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

* * *

"Brilliant, isn't he? Completely demented, of course. Terrifying to be in the same room as him. But he's really been there, you know? He's looked evil in the eye!" Ron gloated as we walked down the stairs, heading back to Gryffindor Tower so we could unwind before dinner and the name submissions.

Hermione, however, wasn't the least bit enthused. "There's a reason those curses are unforgivable. And to perform them in a classroom! Did you see Neville's face?" she said darkly.

We stopped halfway down the stairs. Neville stood in front of us, frozen, as he stared at a stained glass window. _Speak of the devil._

I made a move to try to speak to him. "Neville, what-?"

But an odd clunking noise sounded behind us, and we turned around to see Professor Moody limping in our direction. All four of us fell silent, watching him apprehensively. "It's alright, sonny," he said to Neville. When he spoke, it was in a much lower and gentler growl than we'd heard previously. "Why don't you come up to my office? Come on...we can have a cup of tea."

Neville looked up at him and gave a slight nod. It was partially acceptance, but also uncertainty. He followed Moody back up the stairs, to the classroom. I clutched the strap of my school bag tighter as I watched them slowly disappear from sight.

Harry gently tugged on my arm. "Sis? Come on, let's go," he said, starting to lead me back down the stairs.

Despite my concern for Neville, I nodded and followed my brother back to Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

I sighed in relief once I'd finally completed my Herbology essay. That was my biggest thing that I had to get done, 1 1/2 rolls of parchment on the properties of Bubotuber pus and how to safely collect it. My homework in the other classes I had this year wasn't too bad today. Just two or three assignments due in the next couple of days, and most of those assignments were halfway done. It was a miracle Snape didn't double mine and Harry's workload in Potions this year. Seriously, what is his problem with us?!

Glancing at the clock in my dormitory, I saw it was almost time for dinner, so I put my stuff away and started to walk down to the Great Hall. Hermione had gone down to the library an hour ago, taking Ron with her, and Harry said he was going down to the courtyard "to think", so I had been left to my own devices. But we had all agreed to meet up at dinner.

As I passed through the courtyard en route to the Great Hall, I noted that Harry was no longer there. But I _did_ see Neville. He was sitting on one of the stone benches, with his eyes downcast.

"Neville, are you alright?" I asked, cautiously taking a few steps towards him.

"Hmm?" He looked up, now noticing that I was standing in front of him. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine, Cassia."

I wasn't all that convinced. "Are you sure?" I asked, "You don't sound like you're 'fine'." I sat down.

Neville sighed. "It's just...the Cruciatus Curse...watching Professor Moody perform it on that spider, it - it brought back a really painful memory for me."

"I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to pry," I apologized.

"No - No, you weren't prying," Neville assured me, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze.

I squeezed his hand in return. "Watching you see him perform that curse right in front of you, I just - I felt horrible. I can't even imagine what was going on in your mind when it happened."

Neville pulled me in for a hug. "It's okay. I'm fine. As much as I wish I could change what happened, I can't. No one can."

"How was Moody, when he took you up to his office?" I asked, pulling away from the hug after a while to give him a little space.

"He was alright. Gave me a new book on plants," Neville replied. He pulled a book out of his bag.

I read the title. " _Magical Water Plants of the Highland Lochs_."

He nodded. "Yeah. He reckoned it'd be of interest."

"I see," I said.

Neville then glanced up at the sky. "We'd better get inside. Looks like it's going to rain."

I followed his gaze to see he was right. Dark storm clouds were gathering in the sky, heavy with rain. "Yeah. Those clouds look pretty dark. It might thunder."

"By the way, I heard Fred and George are gonna try and sneak their names into the goblet," Neville said, chuckling a bit.

"Ha! Like they're gonna get past the age line spell!" I remarked, earning a laugh out of him.

"See you later, Cassia. And thanks for the company. I really appreciate it," he said, waving goodbye before rushing inside.

"Bye, Neville," I called back to him. Taking one more look up at the gathering storm clouds, I knew I had to get inside, and fast, if I didn't want to get caught in the storm. I stood up and started to walk into the castle, but someone grabbed me by the arm and pulled me close against their chest. I was startled at first, but mentally sighed in relief once I saw it was just Cedric.

"Hey, love," he greeted, kissing my forehead. "Sorry I scared you."

I shook my head. "I wasn't scared, you just surprised me."

"How were classes?" he asked.

"Uh...they were okay. Professor Moody creeped us out. We had to watch him perform the Unforgivable Curses in class," I answered. "What about your classes?"

"About the same as yours, except I didn't have Defense Against the Dark Arts today. My first class with Moody was on Monday," he replied.

I seethed. Ooh. That must've been rough."

"That guy would scare just about anybody," Cedric agreed. It was a good five minutes or so before he spoke again. "Cassi, I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" I asked.

He sighed. "I'm entering my name in the tournament..."

And just like that, mood went from happy to completely and utterly shocked. He'd pretty much dropped a bombshell on me.

"Are you insane?!" I exclaimed.

Cedric had a stoic look on his face. "I'm 17. I'm eligible to enter," he said, acting like it was nothing. _How can he be so calm about this?! He could die!_

"No. No way," I refused. "You're not putting your name in that Goblet. I won't let you."

"Why not?" he asked. _Was he REALLY asking me that?_

"Because it's dangerous! You heard what Dumbledore said last week," I answered.

"I know. But I'm entering anyway," Cedric told me.

"That's suicide!" I protested.

"Why are you such a control freak, all of a sudden?" he snapped at me.

"I am not now, nor have I ever been a control freak," I argued, crossing my arms. "I'm concerned for your safety. Big difference."

"If you were my girlfriend, you'd support my decisions!" Cedric snarled.

"I _do_ support them, just not this one. You don't have to be so defensive," I fired back. _Why was he acting like this, all of a sudden? What was his deal?_

Cedric groaned. "You're not my mother, Cassia, so stop acting like you are! What gives you the right to tell me what I can and can't do?" He was full-on yelling at this point.

"What gives you the right to snap at me?" I questioned him.

He was left speechless. No more arguing, no more snapping. I was so confused as to why Cedric was being so rude, all of a sudden. If he'd just tell me what the matter was, maybe I could help him. But no, he didn't think that through before he started getting defensive. After a few long moments of silence, he spoke again, his voice barely above a whisper. "Maybe I was wrong, maybe this isn't gonna work out between us..." His facial expression became a sad one, almost regretful. I watched him walk away without another word, not even so much as an "I'm sorry" for snapping at me.

The rain came down hard. Within seconds, I was soaked to the skin. But that was nothing compared to the pain I felt inside, in my heart. My heart felt like it was wrenched out of my body. I let the tears fall, not caring about the fact that my cheeks were already wet from the downpour. Cedric and I had just had our first fight, and it could be our last as well, because he may have just broken up with me.


	49. 4 champions!

**Harry's POV**

As Ron and I watched some of the older students enter their names for the tournament, I couldn't help but wonder where Cassia was. The last time I saw her was right before Hermione dragged the two of us boys down to the library to help us - Ron, mostly - with homework. We were planning to meet in the Great Hall for dinner, but Cassia never showed up. I know for a fact that she never skips hanging out with us. Cedric choosing to sit with his fellow housemates also surprised me, given that we had grown accustomed to having him join us at the Gryffindor table during meals. It's true that I considered him a friend. Granted, he was one of few people who believed that Cassia and I were not behind the Chamber of Secrets being opened in our second year.

My train of thought was interrupted when I felt something - no, some _one_ \- collide with my chest, nearly knocking me to the ground. To my surprise, it was Cassia. She was dripping wet and I could feel her shivering. I hugged her tightly in an effort to warm her up, thinking she was shivering from being cold and wet, but then I saw that her eyes were all red and puffy, and tears were welling up inside them.

"Sis, are you alright? What happened?" I asked.

She sniffled. "Cedric and I had a fight..."

I rubbed her back to try and calm her down. "What was it about?"

"C-Cedric told me h-he was gonna e-enter his n-n-name for the t-tournament, and I told him no, a-and we - we got into an argument. He - he called me a control freak, and he said m-maybe our r-r-relationship wasn't going to work out," she sobbed, before burying her face in my sweater.

I looked across the room at Cedric, who was being pushed towards the goblet by three of his friends.

"C'mon, Ced! Put it in!" one of them encouraged.

Cedric looked up at the blue flames and then put in the parchment that had his name written down on it, much to everyone's delight. Everyone applauded except for Ron, Cassia, and myself. I was _beyond_ angry at Cedric for hurting my sister. He is going to regret what he did.

"I'll kill him," I said through clenched teeth.

"I'll join you," Ron told me, cracking his knuckles.

Cassia sniffled again, looking up at us. "Thanks, guys..." she whispered. She was probably afraid that she'd burst into tears again if she raised her voice any higher. Ron and I each kept an arm around her as we resumed watching other students submit their names.

"Eternal glory. Be brilliant, wouldn't it? Three years from now, when _we're_ old enough to be chosen," Ron mused.

I chuckled. "Yeah, rather you than me."

 **Cassia's POV**

Even though I was still upset about the fight Cedric and I had gotten into, being with my brother made me feel a little better. I was really grateful for Harry being a shoulder for me to cry on. And the fact that both him and Ron were willing to hex Cedric into next week...it really means a lot.

Fred and George soon came charging into the Great Hall, shouting "YES!" at the top of their lungs. Ron, Harry, and I joined in on the applause breaking out throughout the Great Hall...at least, from the Gryffindors in the room.

"Well, lads, we've done it," Fred boasted.

"Cooked it up just this morning," George jumped in. I put two and two together in my head, and then realized that they were going to try and use Aging Potion to put their names in for the tournament.

Hermione paused her reading, having heard them. "It's not going to work," she said in a sing-song voice.

 _She's right_ , I thought in my head, also in a sing-song tone.

Fred and George went over to her and basically sandwiched her in between them.

"Oh, yeah?" Fred challenged.

"Why's that, Granger?" George asked.

"You see this?" Hermione pointed to the line around the goblet. "This is an age line. Dumbledore drew it himself."

"So?" Fred asked.

Hermione scoffed. She closed the book and smacked it on her lap. " _So_ , a genius like Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by a draught as pathetically dimwitted as an Aging Potion."

"Yeah, but that's why it's so brilliant," Fred began.

"Cause it's so pathetically dimwitted," George finished.

They both stood up and shook the little vials of potion up.

"Ready, Fred?" George asked.

"Ready, George," Fred answered.

"Bottoms up," they both said at the same time. They locked arms and downed the potions in one gulp. Then they jumped right over the age line. "Yes!" they exclaimed.

Everyone cheered. Fred and George waved their arms in the air, reveling in the praise they were getting. They then slipped their names into the goblet. "Yes!" they exclaimed again, earning another round of applause. It only lasted for about three seconds. Flames shot all over the place, and Fred and George were knocked backwards, onto the ground, outside of the ageline circle. Except they didn't look like their normal selves. Their hair was longer and gray, and they had matching beards. Laughter broke out throughout the Great Hall. Even I was laughing. Two words: epic fail.

"You said-" Fred started to argue.

" _You_ said-" George argued back. They started wrestling on the ground, and a lot of people, including myself and Harry, gathered to watch the two brothers slug it out.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" we all chanted, amused by what was happening. Hermione, however, did not join in on watching the fight. She moved to another seat and continued reading her book.

But everything came to a standstill when Viktor Krum entered the room. The crowd parted like the Red Sea as the Bulgarian Quidditch player made his way up to the goblet. He put his name in, and for a few moments, it was dead quiet. Then, slowly but surely, people started applauding. Viktor looked over at Hermione and the corners of his lips tugged upward, forming a subtle smile and making Hermione's cheeks turn just a shade or two pinker than normal.

* * *

The entire school was abuzz with excitement, because today was the big reveal; we were going to find out who had been selected for the Triwizard Tournament.

After dinner, Dumbledore made his way to the middle of the Great Hall and held up a hand to quiet us. "Now the moment you've all been waiting for! The Champion Selection!" he announced. He stretched out a hand and slowly brought it around the room, dimming all the firelights emitting from the wall braziers. Then he made his way up to the goblet and put both hands on it. When he stepped back, the normally-blue flames turned a bright scarlet color and spat out a piece of parchment.

Dumbledore caught the parchment and read it. "The Durmstrang champion is...Viktor Krum!"

The Durmstrang boys erupted in applause and Viktor came up to Dumbledore, who shook hands with him and pointed him in the direction of the trophy room.

A fancy piece of parchment came out of the goblet next. _Beauxbatons_.

"The champion for Beauxbatons...is Fleur Delacour!" Dumbledore declared.

Cheers erupted again, the majority of which came from the other Beauxbatons girls. Fleur got up and went to Dumbledore. They shook hands, and then Fleur disappeared into the trophy room.

A third bit of parchment was spat from the fire. We all watched with baited breath. This was the person representing our school.

"The Hogwarts champion...Cedric Diggory!" Dumbledore announced, making my heart sink to my stomach. All the Hufflepuffs cheered and Cedric walked up, shook hands with the headmaster, and then headed into the trophy room to join Viktor and Fleur.

"Excellent! We now have our three champions," Dumbledore announced, "But in the end, only one will go down in history. Only one will hoist this chalice of champions...this vessel of victory. The Triwizard Cup!"

Mr. Crouch brought in something covered with black fabric, and when he took the cover off, there was a large blue cup that, if you looked very closely, had the word 'Triwizard' engraved on it in very faint writing.

Everyone, from all three schools, broke into applause and cheers, but it soon turned to silence when the Goblet of Fire started going berserk. Its blue flames turned red for a fourth time, and a folded piece of parchment shot straight out. _What the heck?! I thought there were only three champions!_

Dumbledore caught the parchment, unfolded it, and read the name to himself. "Harry Potter," he then called out. Utter silence filled the room.

My jaw dropped. "No," I muttered.

"HARRY POTTER!" Dumbledore shouted at the top of his lungs.

I just sat there, fully aware that every head in the Great Hall had turned to look at Harry. There was no applause. A buzzing, as though of angry bees, was starting to fill the hall; some students were standing up to get a better look at Harry as he sat, frozen, in his seat next to me.

Hermione had to nudge Harry three times before he got up from his spot. I stood up as well, holding his hand tightly as we walked up to Dumbledore. Dumbledore said nothing, only showing us the parchment with my brother's name written on it, clear as day. Harry and I were both perplexed and shocked. _How was this possible?_

"He's a cheat!" one person yelled.

"He's not even seventeen yet!" someone else added.

We headed past the other professors and into the trophy room. Fleur, Viktor, and Cedric each had a look of confusion on their faces. But believe me, we were just as baffled as they were.

Suddenly, Dumbledore raced towards us, with Mr. Crouch, Karkaroff, Madame Maxine, and - surprisingly - Professor Moody. He pinned Harry against a trophy case. "Harry, did you enter your name into the Goblet of Fire?"

Harry shook his head. "No, sir."

"Did you ask your sister or one of the older students to do it for you?" Dumbledore questioned, making my eyes widen in shock. What?! My name wasn't even written on the paper! Why would he point fingers at me?!

"No, sir," Harry denied.

"You're absolutely sure?" Dumbledore pressed.

Harry nodded.

"Professor, we're both underage, and I would never in a million years put my brother through something as dangerous as this," I piped up.

Madame Maxine pushed a ceiling light out of her way. "Well, of course zey are lying!"

"The hell they are! The Goblet of Fire is an exceptionally powerful magical object. Only an exceptionally powerful Confundus Charm could have hoodwinked it. Magic way beyond the talents of _one_ fourteen-year-old, let alone two," Moody argued.

Karkaroff gave Malfoy a piercing glare. "You seem to have given this a fair bit of thought, Mad-Eye," he snapped.

"It was once my job to think as dark wizards do, Karkaroff. Perhaps you remember," Moody retorted, staring him down with his artificial eye.

"That doesn't help, Alastor!" Dumbledore interrupted them before either one could argue further. He looked over at Mr. Crouch. "We leave this to you, Barty."

Crouch remained silent for about a minute and a half, keeping his back to us. "The rules are absolute. The Goblet of Fire constitutes a binding magical contract." He turned around and made eye contact with Professor Dumbledore. "Mr. Potter has no choice. He is, as of tonight, a Triwizard Champion."

I gasped silently and exchanged looks with Harry. _This can't be happening. There must be some mistake._

"And vat of ze sister?" Madame Maxine asked, gesturing towards me.

"Miss Potter will be helping her sibling and her significant other. She will mentor both Hogwarts champions for the duration of the tournament," Crouch replied.

Dumbledore had a look of disbelief on his face, but nodded reluctantly, as if to say "So be it". He turned and made his way out of the room, with Crouch, Professor Moody, and the two visiting headmasters not too far behind him. Fleur and Viktor also left the room, and that left Harry and I alone with my boyfriend. I'm not even sure if I should call him that anymore because I don't think we're even together anymore. Just thinking about it hurt me.

"Cassia?" I heard him call my name. "Cass, can we talk?" he asked.

"Why?" I asked, refusing to look him in the eyes. I couldn't, not after what he'd said to me. Harry squeezed my hand reassuringly.

"I, uh, wanted to apologize...for the things I said to you last week," Cedric replied. "I shouldn't have overreacted. You were just looking out for my safety, just like you and Harry do with each other. I regretted saying those things the minute they came out of my mouth, and if I could take it all back, believe me, I would. I'm sorry."

His words repeated over and over in my head. _I regretted saying those things the minute they came out of my mouth. If I could take it back, I would. I'm sorry_. That was all I needed to hear to be able to look up, my green orbs meeting his brown ones. I let go of Harry's hand and walked closer to Cedric, until we were just inches away from each other.

"What you said really hurt me, Cedric. I wasn't sure if we could even be called a couple anymore, after our fight last week," I said. "I didn't know why you were acting so hostile, all of a sudden."

Cedric sighed. "My father was pressuring me to enter because he wants to be able to brag about how 'his son beat Harry Potter' again, and that Hufflepuff will 'finally get the glory it deserves'. I love Dad to death, but the stress of living up to these expectations he has of me was realy getting to me, and I made the mistake of taking it out on my girlfriend." He gestured to me.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.

"Funny you should ask that, I was wondering the same thing." He sighed again. "I should have talked to you about it instead of overreacting to you telling me not to enter."

I stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. "I forgive you, Cedric."

Harry came forward. "I forgive you as well, but I'm letting you off with a warning. If you ever, ever hurt my sister again, be ready, because I'll kick your arse," he threatened.

Cedric chuckled nervously at Harry's warning. I had to stifle a laugh. _He's 17, and he's intimidated by my 14-year-old twin brother!_ "I don't think I'll have to worry about that, because I don't intend to hurt her again," he said, the slight fear of my brother's wrath now gone.

I shrieked in surprise as he dipped me, afraid that I was going to fall, but he held onto me tightly. He crashed his lips onto mine, kissing me intensely. We were basically making out. Our tongues fought each other for dominance. I wound up winning, although I'm pretty sure Cedric let me. Not that I cared. I was just happy I had my boyfriend back.


	50. Interview with Rita Skeeter

**Cassia's POV**

The next few days were some of the worst Harry and I had ever experienced at Hogwarts, even worse than in second year, when the majority of the school had suspected us of attacking our fellow students. What made it worse was that, this time, Ron wasn't on our side. From what Harry told me, the two of them had had a fight last night, and Ron had called him a liar. Hermione wasn't the only one who was angry with them. So was I. We tried to get them to make up, but Harry would only talk to Ron if Ron apologized to Harry for not believing him. Deep down, I knew they missed each other; they've basically been brothers since first year. Literally, the only two people who would talk to us were Hermione and Cedric. It was horrible for me. I wished this was all just a bad dream, that I could wake up and realize that it wasn't real, and I could comfort Harry and tell him it was only a nightmare. No such luck. As much as I hated it, this was real.

Shortly after lunch, Harry and I were pulled out of Potions because the champions were being interviewed for an article written in _The Daily Prophet_ about the upcoming tournament. A picture had to be taken first. Fleur sat down, with the three boys surrounding her. Harry was basically sandwiched between Viktor and Cedric. The photographer clicked the camera, momentarily blinding me with the flash, and a woman appeared out of the smoke created from the camera being clicked. Her blonde hair was in tightly-wound curls, and she wore a long, bright green coat adorned with purple faux fur.

"What a charismatic quartet," she said, gazing at all four champions. She walked over to them and shook their hands. "Hello. I'm Rita Skeeter. I write for The Daily Prophet. But of course, you know that, don't you? It's you we don't know. You're the juicy news. What quirks lurk beneath those rosy cheeks?" She stroked Fleur's cheek and then lightly slapped it with her fingertips, and then walked around Viktor. "What mysteries do the muscles mask?" She ruffled Cedric's hair as she came to a stop between him and Harry. "Does courage lie beneath those curls? In short, what makes a champion tick? Me, Myself, and I want to know. Not to mention my rabid readers. So, who's feeling up to sharing?"

No one answered her. It seemed like they already didn't like her. And frankly, I agreed. She seemed a little...snooty.

"Shall we start with the youngest?" Rita grabbed Harry. "Lovely." I followed her as she led Harry out of the room and straight to a broom cupboard. She opened the door. "Mm, this is cozy..." _Is she for real?_

"It's a broom cupboard," Harry deadpanned.

"Well, you should feel right at home, then," Rita said, shoving Harry in front of her.

The three of us sat down on metal buckets.

"You both don't mind if I use a Quick-Quotes Quill, do you?" Rita asked.

"Oh, no." Harry shook his head.

A magic quill and notepad hovered beside her and started jotting down notes. "So tell me, Harry. Here you sit, a mere boy of twelve..." Rita trailed off.

The quill was writing down everything she said, _very_ quickly.

"Fourteen," Harry corrected.

I nodded in agreement.

"...about to compete against three students not only vastly more emotionally mature than yourself, but who've mastered spells that you wouldn't attempt in your dizziest daydreams," Rita continued. She eyed us from behind her glasses. "Concerned?"

"I-I dunno. I haven't really thought about it," Harry stuttered.

"Because you're no ordinary boy of twelve, are you?" Rita said.

"Fourteen," both Harry and I told her in unison. I rolled my eyes. _We're not twelve, we're teenagers, you idiot!_

She grinned. "Your story's legend. Do you think it was the trauma of your past that made you so keen to enter such a dangerous tournament?"

"No, I didn't enter," Harry adamantly denied.

Rita scoffed. "Of course you didn't." I saw she had a devilish look in her eyes, which I knew meant trouble. "Everyone loves a rebel, Harry." She looked over at the quill. "Scratch that last."

The quill scratched out part of what it had previously been writing.

"Speaking of your parents, were they alive, how do you think they'd feel? Proud? Or concerned that your attitude shows, at best, a pathological need for attention, at worst, a psychotic death wish?" Rita asked.

Harry took a peek at her notebook. "Hey, my eyes aren't glistening with the ghosts of my past!" he protested.

Rita's eyes still had that mischievous glint in them. "I hear you're in a relationship with fellow Hogwarts champion Cedric Diggory."

"Yes." I nodded. "We've been dating for a few months now."

"And how's the relationship? Smooth sailing?" Rita inquired.

"For the most part. I wouldn't say it's perfect. We don't always agree, but we love each other," I answered.

Rita grinned at me. "You're quite the lucky girl, Cassia. Thousands of girls would kill to be in your shoes right now. Send your boyfriend in next, will you?"

I walked out of the broom cupboard, with Harry following close behind, and back into the room where my boyfriend and the other two champions were.

"That snob wants to talk to you next," I told Cedric, kissing him on the cheek.

"Oh, Merlin," Cedric muttered. We made our way down to the broom cupboard, where Rita was waiting, and were rushed inside.

The quill started writing almost immediately once we sat down. "Cedric, how does it feel to be a champion for the Triwizard Tournament?" Rita asked.

"Well, at first, I didn't really want to enter, but my father and my friends insisted on it," Cedric replied.

Rita then looked at me. "And Cassia, what were your thoughts on his decision?"

I had to squeeze Cedric's hand as I remembered the fight we'd had when he told me he was entering his name. "Well...I wasn't okay with it, because the tasks are really dangerous. I tried to talk him out of it, because I didn't want him to get hurt, or worse, and...we got into a little disagreement." I felt Cedric begin to rub circles onto my hand with his thumb to comfort me.

"Thank you," I whispered to him.

He gave my hand a loving squeeze in response.

"So, would you say that the tournament could impact your relationship further?" Rita questioned.

* * *

Now it wasn't just me who was caught off guard by this question. Cedric was taken by surprise, too, but miraculously, he was able to keep his cool. "No, I don't think it'll get in the way of us," he said confidently.

Rita's quill stopped writing. "Well, thank you both. I think I have everything I need from the three of you. Tell Miss Delacour that I'd like to see her next," she said. I don't know what she's planning on writing about Harry and Cedric, but I don't like it.

Harry and I were in the Owlery, awaiting a reply to a recent letter that Harry had sent to our godfather.

 _Sirius,_

 _You have no idea how hectic things have gotten lately. The Triwizard Tournament is under way and somehow, I was selected as a fourth champion! Not only that, but Cassia has to help me AND Cedric now, mainly because I'm her brother and Cedric is her boyfriend, AND a Triwizard champion alongside me. What's worse is that everyone thinks that either I entered my own name in the cup, or Cassia put it in for me. But how could we? The rule was that we had to be seventeen to enter. Please write back and tell us what you think._

 _-Harry_

An owl neither of us had never seen before flew in and dropped Sirius' reply right into my hands. It then sat on a perch right beside Harry.

I tore open the envelope and unfolded the letter, reading it out loud. " _Harry, Cassia, I couldn't risk sending Hedwig. Ever since the World Cup, the Ministry's been intercepting more and more owls, and she's too easily recognized. We need to talk. Face to face. Meet me in the Common Room at one o'clock, on Saturday night. And make sure you're both alone._

 _-Sirius_

 _P.S_ -" I was cut off by Harry giving a small yelp of pain. I looked over at him and saw him with a bleeding finger held to his mouth. I turned back to the letter. "- _The bird bites_."

Harry shook his hand out. " _Now_ he tells us?"

I playfully rolled my eyes. " _You're_ the one who had your hand too close to the owl."

"Whatever," he muttered.

* * *

On Saturday night, I kept the curtains drawn around my bed until I was absolutely sure that my roommates were asleep. After a few hours of waiting, pretending to be asleep, I pulled back one of the curtains and took a glance at Lavender Brown's alarm clock. The time read 12:45. I slipped out of my bed and crept downstairs into the common room. Harry was already there, sitting on the couch. He was holding a copy of the latest issue of The Daily Prophet. The headline on the front page read " _Teenage Tragedy_ ". I noticed Harry was looking at Rita Skeeter's _Me, Myself, and I_ column. When I glanced at the column, I saw that it started with a section about Harry, and then there was a section about me.

 _Me, Myself, and I:  
_ _Harry Potter. Age 12. Suspect entrant in the Triwizard Tournament. His eyes swimming with the ghosts of his past. Competing against three students, one of which is Hogwarts heartthrob Cedric Diggory, his sister Cassia's boyfriend._

 _Sources say that Cassia's relationship with Diggory is a crazy one. They can be snogging one moment and at each other's throats the next._

I couldn't read any more of the column, I was so mad. That snooty lady was making up lies about Harry, _and_ about my relationship with Cedric. Her column didn't contain even a remotely true aspect of the interviews she'd had with us. It was just garbage! I snatched the paper from Harry and ripped it to shreds, before throwing it onto the fire.

"Thanks for that," Harry thanked me.

I plopped next to him. "That woman is going to pay for what she did. Nobody messes with my brother or my relationship and gets away with it."

"Want me to help you with getting your revenge on her?" Harry offered, half joking and half serious.

"Well, they say two heads are better than one, so..." I trailed off.

Soon, we heard a loud grunt of effort coming from the fire, and then Sirius' face appeared within the burning embers.

"Sirius," Harry and I said both at once.

"I don't have much time, you two, so let me get straight to it. Did you or did you not put your name into the Goblet of Fire, Harry?" Sirius asked. "And did you or did you not ask Cassia to do it for you?"

"No!" Harry and I snapped.

"Why is everyone convinced that I put it in for him?! I'm underage, too, in case they've forgotten!" I hissed.

Sirius shushed us. "I had to ask. Now tell me about this dream that the two of you shared. You mentioned Wormtail and Voldemort, but who was the third man in the room?"

"I don't know," Harry replied.

"You didn't hear a name?" Sirius asked.

I shook my head. "His name wasn't mentioned."

"Voldemort was giving him a job to do. Something important," Harry jumped in.

"And what was that?" Sirius asked.

"He wanted...Cass and I. I don't know why, but he was going to use this man to get to us," Harry explained.

I ran a hand through my long, black hair. "Both and I have been having this same dream, and we don't know why. Maybe it's because we're twins, or...I don't know."

"But, I mean, it was only a dream," Harry assumed. "Right?"

Sirius hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes...it's just a dream." His voice turned grave again. "Look, Harry, Cassia, the Death Eaters at the World Cup; one of your names rising out of the goblet of fire; these are not coincidences. Hogwarts isn't safe anymore."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, baffled.

"I'm saying the devils are inside the walls. Igor Karkaroff, he was a Death Eater, and no one - _no one_ stops being a Death Eater. Then there's Barty Crouch. Heart of stone. Sent his own son to Azkaban," Sirius warned us.

I pondered this in my head. "Do you think one of them put Harry's name in the goblet?"

"I haven't a clue who put your brother's name in that Goblet, Cassia, but whoever did is no friend to either of you. People die in this tournament!" Sirius told us.

"I'm not ready for this, Sirius," Harry said, growing very nervous for what was to come.

"You don't have a choice," Sirius informed him.

Just then, we heard someone open the door to one of the dormitories.

I turned around to see their shadow approaching. "Someone's coming," I warned Sirius.

"Keep your friends close," he advised us before disappearing from the fire.

Ron came down and faced us. "What was that all about?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"Heard you talking," Ron deadpanned. "Probably practicing for your next interview, I expect." He turned around and walked back up into the 4th-year boys' dorm without another word.


	51. We find out what the first task is

**Harry's POV**

After classes, Neville and I were hanging out by the Black Lake. Cassia wasn't with me. She'd told me that she had some "unfinished business" to attend to before dinner. I guessed it was probably either some homework that she had to correct some errors on, or she was already thinking up ways to get back at Rita Skeeter for writing those lies about us.

Neville was up to his knees in the water. "Amazing..." he said as he examined something that looked like seaweed. "Amazing!"

"Neville, you're doing it again," I pointed out.

"Oh, right. Sorry," he apologized.

I looked down at the book in my lap. _Magical Water Plants of the Highland Lochs_. Professor Moody had given it to Neville the day he asked him to come into his office for tea, Cassia had told me.

"Nice book, huh?" Neville remarked.

"Er...yeah," I agreed.

We were interrupted by Ron, Hermione, and Seamus coming down to meet us.

Neville gave a friendly "Hello", but I didn't. I was still angry at Ron for the things he'd said to me the night that my name came out of the Goblet of Fire.

"We've already been through enough people. Why don't you just go and do it yourself?" Hermione whisper-snapped at Ron. "Ugh, what do you want me to say again?"

Ron whispered something to her.

She came up to me. "Ronald would like me to tell you, that Seamus told him, that Dean was told by Parvati that Hagrid and Cassia are looking for you," she informed me.

"Is that right? Well..." I stopped, confused. I had no idea what she'd just said. "What?"

"Uh..." Hermione went back over to Ron, and they whispered back and forth a bit before she spoke to me again. "Dean was told by Parvati that-" She sighed, getting a little flustered. "Please don't ask me to say it again. Hagrid and Cassia are looking for you." With that said, she started to walk away.

I threw a piercing glare at my now ex-best friend. "Well, you can tell Ron-"

Hermione whirled around, facing me again. "I'm not an owl!" she yelled.

As I watched the three of them leave, I realized she was right. Ron and I were basically using her as a mediator just now, and that wasn't fair to her.

* * *

 **Cassia's POV**

It was just a little bit after sundown when Harry met up with me at Hagrid's hut.

"Did yeh bring yer father's cloak, like I asked you?" Hagrid asked him.

Harry nodded. "Yes." He held up the cloak.

"Then come with me, both o' yeh," Hagrid said. We followed him into the Forbidden Forest.

"What exactly are we doing here anyway?" Harry asked.

"Yeh'll see," Hagrid answered without making eye contact with us. As we walked, I took in his appearance. He was more...well-groomed than usual. A flower was pinned to his coat, and his normally-bushy hair was tamed.

"What's with the flower?" I asked.

"Hagrid, have you combed your hair?!" Harry exclaimed, just as surprised at Hagrid's appearance as I was.

"Matter o' fact, I have," Hagrid replied. He glanced down at my brother. "Yeh might like ter try the same thing now and again."

We soon heard a heavily-accented French voice call out, "Hagrid?" It was Madame Maxime, the Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.

Hagrid looked at the two of us. "Oh, the cloak. Put the cloak on." Although initially perplexed as to why he was having us put the Invisibility Cloak on, we complied. We followed Hagrid as he trekked further into the forest, before running into Madame Maxime. "Bonsoir, Olympe," he greeted.

"Oh, Hagrid. I thought you weren't coming," she breathed. "I thought, perhaps, you had...forgotten me."

"Couldn't forget you, Olympe," Hagrid assured her. I snickered when I heard Harry silently gag next to me. I wasn't grossed out, I just found it weird to see this side of Hagrid. Neither one of us thought him to be a romantic.

Madame Maxime's facial expression was a mix between confusion and curiosity. "Vat is it that you wanted to show me? When ve spoke earlier, you sounded so exhilarated."

"Yeh'll be glad yeh came. Trust me," Hagrid told her.

A loud roar coming from somewhere nearby made both Harry and I jump. I watched as Hagrid pulled back one of the bushes.

"Ah, c'est magnifique!" Madame Maxime exclaimed, her face illuminated momentarily by the immense amount of light coming from the other side of the bush. "Could we get closer?" she asked.

Keeping a firm hold on each other's hands, Harry and I edged closer to the bush so we could see what was going on. But the sight before us proved to be quite the shock. Four fully grown, enormous, vicious-looking dragons were rearing onto their hind legs inside an enclosure fenced with thick planks of wood, roaring and snorting - torrents of fire were shooting into the dark sky from their open, fanged mouths, fifty feet above the ground on their outstretched necks. There was a silvery-blue one with long, pointed horns, snapping and snarling at the wizards on the ground; a smooth-scaled green one, which was writhing and stamping with all its might; a red one with an odd fringe of fine gold spikes around its face, which was shooting mushroom-shaped fire clouds into the air; and a gigantic black one, more lizard-like than the others, which was nearest to us. People were running about, trying to dodge the flames while also trying to prevent the dragons from breaking out of their cages.

I ripped the cloak off of us, not caring if Madame Maxine knew we were here. "Fighting dragons?! Like, full-grown, adult dragons?! That's the first task?!" I exclaimed. Out of all the things I worried my brother and my boyfriend would have to face, it HAD to be a creature as tall as Gringotts and with more firepower in their breath than if there were ten of me.

"You're joking!" Harry added.

"Come on, you two. They're seriously misunderstood creatures," Hagrid admonished us. The spiked dragon then spat fire in our direction, making us all duck behind the bush. "Although, I have to admit, that Horntail is a right nasty piece o' work. Poor Ron nearly fainted just seein' 'em."

"Ron was here?" Harry questioned.

Hagrid looked at him like he had two heads. "Well sure. His brother Charlie had to bring 'em over from Romania. Didn't Ron tell yeh that?"

"No, he didn't," Harry replied, shaking his head. "He didn't tell me anything."

"We haven't spoken to each other since champion selection," I jumped in. I hadn't known much about the first task, only that the champions weren't allowed to use anything besides their wands. Now, seeing these dragons and knowing that, in less than a week, my brother and my boyfriend are each going to have to fight one...I could feel my stress levels rising. I had to come up with a good strategy. Their lives basically depend on it.


	52. Malfoy, the amazing, bouncing ferret

**Cassia's POV**

The next day, almost the entire student body was sporting these 'Support Cedric Diggory' badges, but they were charmed so that when you pressed them, they changed to 'Potters Stink'. People started jeering and hurling insults at Harry and I as we walked through the corridors in search of Cedric. I'd done a little bit of extra research on the first task, and learned that there was more to it than just getting past a dragon. The dragon was supposed to guard a golden egg, which contained a clue for the next task. I had decided that we'd better tell Cedric about the task today so that, after dinner tonight, all three of us could meet together and discuss strategy.

"You stink, Potter!" some shouted at Harry.

"Cedric rules!" a younger boy cheered as he ran past us.

I rolled my eyes. The rumor that I'd somehow managed to submit Harry's name in for the tournament was bad enough, but those stupid badges were a hell of a lot worse.

"Thanks," Harry muttered through clenched teeth at the boy's retreating form.

I glanced outside. "Maybe Cedric's out there..."

We made our way to a doorway that led outside, but a couple of students were blocking it.

One of them flashed his badge at us. "Like the badge?" he asked.

"Excuse us," I said, giving them a cold glare. They moved out of the way, and we stepped outside. I spotted Cedric lying down on one of the benches, just hanging out with his friends. To our dismay, when we approached them, I saw that they were all sporting those stupid badges, all except for Cedric.

"Hey, Ced, you've got visitors," the guy standing closest to him said, getting his attention. Most of the others just hurled off insults at Harry. It took everything in me not to pull my wand out and turn all of them into toads.

Cedric sat up and greeted me with a peck on the lips. "Hey, love."

I gave him a quick hug. "Cedric, can Harry and I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure," Cedric agreed. We led him away from his friends until we were sure we were out of earshot.

"For the first task, the champions have to battle a dragon. They've got one for each of you," I informed him, ignoring my trembling hands.

"You're - You're serious?" he questioned. "And Viktor and Fleur...do they...?"

I nodded. "Yeah. They know."

"Guys, listen...about the badges...I've asked them not to wear them," Cedric apologized, throwing a backward glance towards his friends.

Harry waved it off like it was nothing. "No, it's fine," he said.

"I'll see you after dinner, alright, Ceddy?" I kissed Cedric on the cheek.

He nodded. "Sure, love." He pecked my lips once more before returning to his friends.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ron walking through the corridors inside, with Seamus in tow. Before I could stop him, Harry stormed up to Ron. "You're a right foul git, you know that?" he remarked.

"You think so?" Ron challenged.

"I know so," Harry retorted.

"Anything else?" Ron inquired.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Stay away from us."

"Fine." Ron pushed past us and walked away. Seamus glared daggers at Harry before he, too, disappeared down the corridor.

"Listen, I'm just as mad at him for not believing us as you are, but he's your best friend. You can't stay mad at him forever," I said, only to receive a simple huff from him in response.

"Why so tense, Potters?" we heard Malfoy call out. It sounded like he was almost directly above us. I glanced upward to see him just casually sitting in the tree, his arms resting on two of the branches. Crabbe, Goyle, and a few other Slytherins stood surrounding the trunk.

"What do you want _now_ , Malfoy?" I snapped, crossing my arms.

"My father and I have a bet, you see. I don't think your brother's gonna last ten minutes in this tournament," Malfoy answered, looking at Harry. He jumped to the ground. "He disagrees. He thinks he won't last five." His goons crowded around him, smirking at us. _That guy REALLY knows how to get under our skin, and I absolutely hate it!_

Together, Harry and I stormed up to our long-time rival, giving him the nastiest glares we could muster.

"We don't give a damn what your father thinks, Malfoy!" I snarled.

Harry pushed him. "He's vile and cruel. And you're pathetic."

I flipped my hair as we walked away, leaving a gobsmacked Malfoy behind us.

"Pathetic?!" Malfoy echoed angrily. We heard him pull out his wand, ready to curse at us.

"Oh, no you don't, sonny!" someone yelled. Both of us turned around just in time to see Malfoy turn into a white ferret.

"I'll teach you to curse someone when their back is turned," Professor Moody barked as he limped over to Malfoy. He whipped out his wand and used it to make Ferret Malfoy fly up and down repeatedly. "You stinking - cowardly - scummy -" It didn't take long for a crowd to appear.

McGonagall pushed her way through the crowd to see what was going on. "Professor Moody, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Teaching," Moody answered curtly.

She blinked, a look of surprise on her face at the sight of Malfoy as an animal. "Is that - Is that a student?"

"Technically, it's a ferret," Moody corrected her. He stuffed Ferret Malfoy down Crabbe's pants, causing Crabbe to jump around like crazy.

"Stand still! Stand still!" Goyle said. He stuck his hand down Crabbe's pants, trying to pull Ferret Malfoy out, but pulled his hand out abruptly, shouting in pain. _Looks like he got bit._

I was laughing so hard that I had to lean onto Harry for support so I wouldn't fall. He was laughing, too. Almost everyone in the crowd was laughing hysterically at Malfoy's plight. Sadly, it didn't last forever. McGonagall turned Malfoy back into a human with one simple swish of her wand. I was really bummed, because seeing that happen to him was the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life.

Malfoy leapt to his feet, a little disoriented, and looked around momentarily before his eyes landed on Professor Moody. "My father will hear about this!" he warned before running off.

"Is that a threat? Is that a threat?!" Moody asked. He left his walking stick behind and started to charge after him, despite McGonagall's protests. He stopped once he saw Malfoy was too fast. "I could tell you stories about your father that would curl even your greasy hair, boy!" he roared.

"Alastor!" McGonagall tried to get his attention.

"It doesn't end here, boy!" Moody shouted.

McGonagall moved so that she stood in front of him. "Alastor, we never use transfiguration as a punishment. Surely Dumbledore told you that," she scolded.

"He might have mentioned it," Moody muttered.

"And you will do well to remember it," McGonagall admonished. She left without another word.

Professor Moody stuck his tongue out at her as she left. Once she was gone, he looked over at Harry and I and beckoned us to follow him. I exchanged glances with Harry, but we followed him anyway.

* * *

Moody took us up to his office and sat down, unhooking his wooden leg. As he did that, Harry and I looked around his office. Situated near us was a strange-looking glass. When I looked closer, I didn't just see my own reflection, but the reflection of several other people.

"That's my Foe-Glass," he spoke, startling me. "Helps me keep an eye on my enemies. When I see the whites of their eyes it means they're right behind me." A trunk near him started rattling and roaring, but he ignored it. "Won't bother telling you what's in there. You wouldn't believe me if I did," he said. He made eye contact with Harry."So, got any ideas how you're going to get past your dragon yet?"

"No. I mean, Cassia and I were talking about it last night, but we couldn't come up with anything," Harry admitted.

"We're planning on meeting with Cedric tonight to talk strategy," I jumped in.

"Well, I'm not going to give you any hints," Moody said gruffly. "I don't show favoritism, me. I'm just going to give you some good, general advice. Sit."

Harry did as told.

"Listen to me, sonny," Moody said. "Her beau, Diggory-" He threw a nod towards me. "-by your age, he could turn a whistle into a watch and have it sing you the time. Miss Delacour, she's as much a fairy princess as I am. As for Krum, his head may be filled with sawdust, but Karkaroff's is not. They'll have a strategy, and you can bet that it'll play to Krum'z strengths. Hmm? Come on, Potter. What are your strengths?"

"I dunno...I can fly. I mean, I'm a fair flyer," Harry replied.

"Better than fair, the way I've heard it," Moody remarked.

I nodded. "Harry's the Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. I've seen him fly. He's much faster than me."

"But I'm not allowed a broom," Harry objected.

"You're allowed to use a wand," I pointed out.

Moody glanced at me, and then looked at Harry again. "Your sister is right. Best to think about that when you're brainstorming tonight." He let us go right afterward.

* * *

I laid all the books out in front of me. Some were Harry's, some were mine, and some belonged to Cedric. Most of them contained different charms and spells, but quite a few of them were about dragons. Cedric had borrowed those few from the library. He'd been lucky enough to find one that mentioned the Hungarian Horntail.

The three of us sat on the couch in the Hufflepuff common room, pouring through books.

"Here's an idea," Cedric mused.

"What?" I asked, looking up at him.

He held up the book he had been reading. A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration. "I can either transfigure the dragon or transfigure something to distract it."

"Okay...I don't know if using Transfiguration on the dragon itself will work- they might be immune to magic, but I'm not sure," I pondered. "Maybe try transfiguring something to distract the dragon. While it's busy, you can just sneak past and grab the egg. If it breathes fire in your direction, either use 'Aguamenti' or some form of protection spell against the flames."

Cedric grinned. "Perfect."

Now all that was left was to help Harry come up with a way to evade his dragon. The wheels in my brain started to turn as an idea came to me. "Harry, how are you with the Summoning Charm?" I asked my brother.

"Pretty good. Why do you ask?" Harry questioned, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Well, if you're not allowed a broom, but you're allowed to use a wand, why not just try using the wand to summon your broom?" I suggested.

Harry looked a bit doubtful. "Isn't that cheating?"

"No, I don't think so," Cedric answered. "There's no rule against it."

"There you have it," I said. I high-fived both of them. On the inside, though, I was terrified. I didn't care if Harry and Cedric got their eggs or not, or even what their scores would be, I just prayed that both of them would come out of this task in one piece.


	53. First Task: Dragon Fight

**Harry's POV**

I barely slept at all that night, after talking strategy with Cedric and Cassia. When I awoke on Monday morning, I seriously considered for the first time ever just running away from Hogwarts. But as I looked around the Great Hall at breakfast time, and thought about what leaving the castle would mean, I knew I couldn't do it. It was the only place I had ever been happy...well, I supposed I must have been happy with my sister and our parents, but I couldn't remember that. And neither could she.

Which brings me to right now. Fleur, Viktor, Cedric, and I were all in a tent, waiting for everyone else to take their seats in the stands. The first task was about to begin. I could hear some people taking bets on which one of us was going to receive the best time and score. I had no doubt that Fred and George would be among those students taking bets, probably trying to get some funds to build the joke shop they've always wanted.

"Psst! Psst!" I heard someone hiss from one of the walls of the tent. I snuck over to the wall and pressed my ear against the canvas.

"Harry? Is that you?" Hermione whispered.

"Yeah," I answered.

"How are you feeling? Okay?" she asked.

 _Difficult to say_ , I said in my mind. How _did_ I feel? Scared? Anxious? Jittery? Worried? Sick to my stomach? I would say it was everything all rolled into one.

She seemed to understand almost immediately. "The key is to concentrate. After that, you just have to-"

"-battle a dragon," I finished her sentence. I was completely taken by surprise when she burst into the tent and threw her arms around me, hugging me tightly as if I were a lifeline.

 **Cassia's POV**

I decided to go check up on Harry and Cedric, see how they were doing. Right when I walked into the tent, a camera flashed, making me blink.

To my chagrin, Rita Skeeter came into the room. "Young love! How...stirring," she said, before throwing a glance at her Quick-Quotes Quill, causing it to begin to write furiously. She looked at my brother and Hermione. "If everything goes unfortunately today, you two might even make the front page."

"Who said _you_ could come in here?" I asked, giving her a cold glare.

Viktor came forward. "You have no business here. This tent is for champions. And friends," he snapped.

Rita pursed her lips. "No matter. We've got what we wanted." She marched out of the tent, with her photographer in tow.

Dumbledore then entered the tent, followed by Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, and Professor Moody. "Good day, champions. Gather round," he said. All six of us gathered around him. "Now, you've waited, you've wondered, and at last, the moment has arrived. A moment only four of you can fully appreciate," he declared. Upon noticing Hermione was still in the tent, he looked at her in surprise. "What are you doing here, Miss Granger?"

"Oh, sorry," Hermione apologized, embarrassed. "I'll just...go." She left the tent, going to find a vacant spot in the stands.

"Barty, the bag," Dumbledore urged.

Mr. Crouch moved to stand in the center of our group. "Champions, in a circle around me," he instructed, "Miss Delacour, over here." He moved Fleur to his right. "Mr. Krum." Viktor was moved to stand right next to Fleur. "Potter..." It took Mr. Crouch a couple of seconds to realize Harry was right behind him. When he did, he moved Cedric next to Viktor, and Harry next to Cedric. "Miss Delacour..." He held the bag out to Fleur.

Fleur put her hand into the bag and pulled out an olive-green dragon with the number 2 hung on a pendant around its neck.

"The Welsh Green," Mr. Crouch said. He moved over to Viktor. "Mister Krum..."

Viktor stuck his hand in and pulled out a scarlet dragon with a fringe of gold spikes around its face. His dragon had a pendant with the number 3.

"The Chinese Fireball. Ooh," Mr. Crouch said, a little anxious with that one.

Cedric reached into the bag and pulled out a dragon with silvery-blue scales and the number 1 around its neck.

"The Swedish Short-Snout. And that leaves..." Crouch trailed off as he came to stand in front of Harry. _Oh, no._ _The only dragon left is the Horntail._ Hagrid had told us, the night he'd shown us the dragon, that the Horntail is a nasty piece of work. And if I remember correctly from that one particular chapter that talked about the Hungarian Horntail, it's reportedly the most dangerous dragon.

"The Horntail," Harry and I whispered in unison. It was like he'd read my mind.

"What was that?" Mr. Crouch asked, looking at us.

"Nothing," I lied.

Harry hesitantly put his hand into the bag and pulled out the last dragon, a black-scaled, lizard-like dragon with bronze spikes protruding from its tail and a pendant with the number 4 hanging around its neck.

"The Hungarian Horntail," Crouch told him. He eyed all four of the champions. "These represent four very real dragons, each of which has been given a golden egg to protect. Your objective is simple; collect the egg. This you must do, for each one contains a clue without which you cannot hope to proceed to the next task." _Yep, this is NOT going to end well._

"Any questions?" Dumbledore asked. He was met with silence. No one dared to ask.

"Very well. Mr. Diggory, at the sound of the cannon-"

A loud blast from above us cut him off, rattling the tent. For a second, thought the whole thing was going to collapse on us, but it didn't. Dumbledore nodded for Cedric to go.

Before Cedric left the tent, he pulled me close to him and kissed me passionately. It went from being a short, sweet kiss into a mini make-out session.

"Mr. Diggory...Miss Potter..." Mr. Crouch tried to get our attention. We were so caught up in the moment that we basically blocked him out.

"Are you quite finished?" Dumbledore asked.

We pulled back quickly.

"Sorry, Professor," Cedric apologized, giving a sheepish smile.

Crouch and the three headmasters then left to find their seats at the judging panel. Before he left, however, Dumbledore gave a knowing look at me. His eyes held a glint of amusement behind those familiar half-moon glasses.

Cedric gave me a final reassuring smile before exiting through a different door in the tent, leading outside into the arena. Two seconds later, we heard a whistle blow, signaling that his time had started.

I snuck over to the entrance of the tent and peered out at the arena to watch the task.

 **Cedric's POV**

As I entered the arena, I was greeted by a mighty roar from the Swedish Shortsnout. She gave me a menacing glare as she wrapped a wing around the egg. Gripping my wand tightly, I returned the glare as best as I could. I was terrified, I'll admit it, but I knew I couldn't show it. Animals could sense fear, and magical creatures - especially dragons - were no different. If I froze, then the Shortsnout would know I was afraid, and I would more than likely be injured-or worse.

Despite keeping calm and collected on the outside, I was really feeling the pressure. Not only did I have to avoid being killed by a massive dragon, but since I was first in the running, I had to set the bar really high. Knowing that my girlfriend was watching me was the least of my concerns, because Cassia didn't care whether I won or lost, just that I survived this tournament. She felt the exact same way about Harry. That was one of the many things I liked about her, she didn't expect a victory from either of us. My father, on the other hand...I loved him dearly, don't get me wrong, but I just didn't see why me beating Harry in competition was so important to him. All of that went out the window when I told him about the fight Cassia and I had had-I sent him a letter that explained what'd happened, and he replied back with the longest Howler anyone had ever heard. I'm kidding, it wasn't _that_ long, but he was pretty angry with me.

 _*Flashback*_

 _It had been five days since my altercation with Cassia. Five days since we had last spoken to each other. I felt absolutely horrible about the way I'd acted. Why didn't I just tell her what was going on? What was I thinking? Oh, wait, that's right-I wasn't thinking! Merlin, I can be such an idiot sometimes!_

 _My mind kept wandering to Cassia as I tried to work on my homework in my dorm. I had been spending most of my time here for the past several days. At meals, I sat with my friends and tried not to look over at the Gryffindor table. I just couldn't bear to see Cassia's heartbroken expression. But what she didn't know was that I was hurting just as badly as she was. Cassia was everything I wanted in a girl. Our relationship meant the world to me...and I blew it._

 _The sound of something pecking one of the windows filled my ears, distracting me from writing an answer to one of the questions on my Potions homework. I looked outside to see it was my father's owl, Robin, with a pair of envelopes clamped in his beak. I made my way over to the window and opened it. Robin flew in, dropping the letters onto the bed. I reached out to stroke Robin as a thank you, but he nipped at me, barely missing my finger._

 _"Easy, Robin. What's the matter?" I asked, before looking at the two letters on my bed. A feeling of impending doom overcame my body once I saw one of the envelopes was blood-red. Oh, no. A Howler. I cringed as I saw it start to smoke a little._

 _I hesitantly broke the seal on the envelope, only for it to start yelling in my face. "CEDRIC ELDRITCH DIGGORY, YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF, YOUNG MAN! WHY IN MERLIN'S NAME WOULD YOU EVER WANT TO HURT CASSIA LIKE THAT?! I THOUGHT YOU LOVED HER! SHE'S BEEN THE PERFECT GIRLFRIEND FOR YOU, AND THAT'S HOW YOU REPAY HER? BY INSULTING HER AND YELLING AT HER FOR TRYING TO LOOK OUT FOR YOU?!" I heard my father's voice yell, nearly blowing my eardrums out. He sighed and lowered his voice. "I'm sorry for yelling, son. Your mother and I care very deeply for your happiness, and seeing you with Cassia...it's the happiest we've seen you since we bought you your first broomstick."_

 _My mother spoke next. "Cedric, I know we haven't known Cassia for more than a couple of months, but it's enough to see that she truly loves you. And we both know that you love her. Your father is right-your happiness is at its best when you're with her."_

 _I knew they were right. Cassia being my girlfriend is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I didn't want to lose her, though part of me was sure that I had. Regardless, I knew I had to apologize. There was a chance that she might not forgive me, but I had to at least try._

 _*End of flashback*_

I took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing._ I pointed my wand at a boulder sitting very close to the dragon, and said a spell to transfigure it in my mind. The boulder turned into a black Labrador. It wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but it was better than nothing. To my surprise, the Shortsnout's attention turned to the dog as it ran around the arena. Taking advantage of the diversion, I ran over to the egg, earning cheers from the majority of the crowd, mainly coming from the Slytherins. Two of them were holding up a sign that had my name written in huge letters, and then underneath, they had written 'The TRUE Hogwarts Champion', which annoyed me greatly. Just because there were two champions for our school didn't mean I was better than Harry, but that was what nearly everyone else thought.

"CEDRIC, LOOK OUT! BEHIND YOU!" Cassia suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs, just as a loud roar from behind filled my ears.

I turned around just in time to see the Shortsnout snarling at me, getting ready to blast me with her fire breath. This wasn't good. The dog had distracted her, but only for a short time. She'd lost interest in chasing after it and was going after me next. I grabbed the egg and ran towards the nearest boulder I could find, planning to use it as cover. The dragon roared once again and then blew a gust of fire at me, right when I ducked behind the boulder. I felt a burning pain on the side of my face, and I knew that I'd just been burned. _Merlin, that was TOO close!_

Madame Pomfrey ambushed me the moment I reentered the tent. She rushed me to one of the beds and began to apply a foul-smelling orange paste onto the burn. I grimaced as the paste stung my already-burned flesh, but after a few moments, the stinging sensation went away as the paste slowly started to heal the burn.

Cassia came over and sat down on the edge of my bed. She wrapped her arms around my torso and rested her chin on my left shoulder. "Good news: you set the bar really high. Your time was 2 minutes and seventeen seconds, and your score was 39 points," she informed me.

I smiled, combing my fingers though her black hair. "That makes me feel better about being careless enough to not notice the dragon until the last second."

"Don't worry about that. You survived this task. That's what matters," she said. "Now I just hope my brother can do the same..." A worried look appeared on her face as she glanced across the way at Harry.

* * *

 **Harry's POV**

"Three of our champions have now faced their dragons, and so each one of them will proceed to the next task. And now, our fourth and final contestant," Dumbledore announced.

I stood up, noticing dimly that my legs seemed to be made of marshmallow. I waited. And then I heard the whistle blow. I walked out through the entrance of the tent, the panic rising into a crescendo inside me.

I saw everything in front of me as though it wa a very highly colored dream. There were hundreds and hundreds of faces staring down at me from stands that had been magicked there since I'd last stood on this spot. The ground beneath my feet was rocky. Some places were very steep. Right in front of me was the egg, completely unguarded. I tentatively took a few steps toward the egg, but was met with a giant claw slamming onto the wall behind me. The dragon slammed its tail into me, knocking me to the ground. I ran out of the way as it shot fire right at me, just barely missing me. I ran as far away from the dragon as I could and tried to climb my way up part of the rocks, but the dragon whipped its tail at me. Another slam of the tail made me lose my grip and fall off the section I'd been trying to climb up. The next thing I knew, I was flung across the arena. As I got up, I saw the dragon approaching me again. I ran behind a rock, narrowly avoiding getting roasted.

"Your wand, Harry!" I heard Hermione shout.

"Use your wand!" Cassia practically screeched.

I pointed my wand to the sky. " _Accio_ Firebolt!" _I hope this works. And that it doesn't count as breaking the rules of the task._ Noticing the dragon come closer to me again, I ducked behind the boulder. Soon a whirring sound filled my ears. I peered out from behind the boulder and saw my Firebolt rushing towards me. I had to hide behind the boulder again when the dragon shot fire breath at me. Luckily, the boulder offered me protection from the flames. As the Firebolt flew closer, I took the chance and jumped onto it, flying away from the dragon.

The clang of metal behind me alerted me that the dragon had broken free of its chain. I flew around the arena and past one of the stands, in the direction of the castle. After going over a roof, I glanced behind me to see if the dragon was still going after me. It wasn't. Either it was slowing down to take a breather or it was going to jump scare me. As I rounded one of the towers, the dragon came up out of nowhere. It hit me with its tail, knocking me off my broom. Thankfully, I managed to grab on to part of a window. I watched with baited breath as the dragon flew around me, to another tower. After that, it let out a noise that sounded like a cross between a roar and a groan. I gripped the window roof tightly as I looked down. My broom was laying on a window roof right below me. And to make things worse, I heard the dragon clawing its way over to me. This was bad. VERY bad.

Part of the roof broke under my weight and I fell at least five feet, to the window that my broom was stuck on. I stood on the windowsill and gripped the top of the window frame tightly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the dragon coming closer. I knew I had to move fast. I edged over to the side of the window and made a grab at the broom, but it was stuck. I pulled and pulled, mercifully managing to get it free just before the dragon slammed its head into the window. I slid down the roof of the castle before finally being able to mount my broom again. The dragon seemed to be relentless as it chased me all over the castle. Although its fire breath didn't get me, the end of my broom caught ablaze. Just as I thought I was a goner, I saw one of the covered bridges in front of me. That could work. I flew through one of the arches and soon heard a crash. On instinct, I looked behind me and saw the dragon tumbling to the ground far below. With the dragon no longer a threat, I flew back to the arena and seized the golden egg. Of all the people cheering in the audience, my sister Cassia was, by far, the loudest and the most excited.

 **Cassia's POV**

I was cheering the loudest for Harry as he returned to the arena and grabbed the egg. "He did it! He did it!" I exclaimed, holding on to Cedric's arm and jumping up and down.

Cedric, showing good sportsmanship, applauded for Harry as well.

Fred and George hosted a huge party up in Gryffindor Tower, after the task. Harry held the egg in the air with one hand, much to everyone's delight. I was so proud of him and Cedric. They'd survived the first task. _One down, two to go._

"Knew you wouldn't die, Harry," Fred said as he and George hoisted Harry onto their shoulders. "Lose a leg..."

"Or an arm," George added.

"Pack it in all together?" Fred questioned.

"Never!" they both said at once.

We cheered again.

"Shush!" Seamus snapped, making everybody be quiet. He handed Harry the egg. "Go on, Harry! What's the clue?"

"Who wants me to open it?" Harry asked.

Everyone cheered in response.

"Want me to open it?" Harry repeated, earning another round of cheers. I helped him undo the top of the egg, but then this earsplitting screech came out. Everyone (including us) clamped their hands over their ears and Harry was dropped from the Weasley twins' shoulders. Quickly, we closed the egg again.

"What the bloody hell was that?" we heard Ron ask as he entered the room.

"Alright, everyone, go back to your knitting. Er, sorry," Fred apologized.

Ron came up to us. "Reckon you'd be barking mad to put your own name into the goblet. Or to get your sister to pull some strings and enter you in."

"Come around, have you? Took you long enough," Harry said coldly.

"I wasn't the only one who thought you'd done it. Everyone was saying it behind your backs," Ron defended himself.

"Brilliant, that makes us feel loads better," Harry sarcastically remarked.

"At least I warned you about the dragons," Ron commented.

"Hagrid and Cassia warned me about the dragons," Harry corrected him. I nodded to confirm his words.

"No, I did! I told Hermione to tell you that Seamus told me that Parvati told Dean that Hagrid and Cass were looking for you. Seamus never actually told me anything, so it was really me all along," Ron admitted, "I thought we'd be alright, you and I, after you'd figured it out."

Harry blinked. "Who...who could possibly figure that out? It's completely mental."

Ron nodded. "Yeah...it is, isn't it? Suppose I was a bit distraught."

Harry and I each gave him a small smile, indicating that we forgave him.

"Boys!" Hermione exclaimed.

I playfully punched her arm as we looked at Harry and Ron. I speak for both of us when I say we were happy to have the last member of our 'Golden Quartet' back.


	54. The Yule Ball

**Cassia's POV**

The next day, we all sat together at breakfast. Cedric was sitting with us again, and as usual, I sat in between his legs.

Hermione was furious at Rita Skeeter's latest edition of _Me, Myself, and I._ "I can't believe it! She's done it again!" she snapped, "' _Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl seems to be developing a taste for famous wizards. Her latest prey, sources report, is none other than the Bulgarian bonbon Viktor Krum. No word yet on how Harry Potter is taking this latest emotional blow_.'"

I rolled my eyes. _Rita sure likes to gossip a lot._

"Dad's peeved at Rita because she overshadowed Harry in her article on the tournament," Cedric chimed in.

"That woman is _so_ on our enemies list," I muttered.

A first-year boy walked up to us, holding a large brown package. "Parcel for you, Mr. Weasley."

"Oh, thank you, Nigel," Ron said, taking the package.

Nigel just stood there, looking at him expectantly. Hermione glanced at him and then at Ron.

Ron then got the hint and whispered, "Later, Nigel. Later."

Nigel walked away. When he was out of earshot, Hermione looked at Ron suspiciously.

Ron sighed. "I told him I'd get Harry and Cassia's autographs." He turned his attention to the package. "Oh, look, Mum sent me something!" He unwrapped the box and opened the lid to reveal very frilly-looking robes. He looked surprised. "Mum sent me a dress?"

"Well, it does match your eyes," Harry complimented.

I giggled. "Is there a bonnet?"

Harry rummaged around in the box and pulled out a lace collar. "Aha!"

Cedric started to chuckle.

"Nose down, guys," Ron warned. He went over to Ginny. "Ginny, these must be for you."

Ginny looked up from the bowl of cereal she was eating, and glanced at the dress robes. "I'm not wearing _that_. It's ghastly."

Hermione covered her mouth to muffle the stream of giggles coming out of her mouth.

"What's so funny?" Ron asked her.

"They're not for Ginny. They're for you," I told him, laughing.

Everybody at the table started cracking up.

"Dress robes," Hermione jumped in.

"Dress robes?! For what?" Ron asked.

* * *

Transfiguration class was a lot different than usual today. All the desks had been cleared away, and a phonograph sat in a corner of the room. We were instructed to sit on opposite sides of the room, with the boys on one end and the girls on the other end.

"The Yule Ball is approaching-a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament since its inception, and an opportunity to socialize with our foreign guests. On Christmas Eve night, we and our guests gather in the Great Hall for a night of well-mannered frivolity," McGonagall explained while Filch stood near a phonograph. "The ball will be open only to fourth-years and above. Now, as representatives of the host school, I expect each and every one of you to put your best foot forward, and I mean this literally, because the Yule Ball is, first and foremost, a dance."

At this, the boys on the opposite end of the room groaned, while us girls got really excited.

"Silence!" McGonagall barked. "The House of Godric Gryffindor has commanded the respect of the Wizarding World for nearly ten centuries. I will not have you, in the course of a single evening, besmirching that name by behaving like a babbling, bumbling band of baboons." Her voice softened a bit as she went on to instruct us how to properly dance. "Now, to dance is to let the body breathe. Inside every girl, a secret swan slumbers, longing to burst forth and take flight. Inside every boy, a lordly lion, prepared to prance." She looked at Ron. "Mr. Weasley, would you join me, please?"

Ron walked up to her, looking a bit nervous.

"Place your right hand on my waist," McGonagall instructed.

Ron blinked. "Where?"

"My waist," McGonagall repeated.

I heard Fred or George (I have no idea who) wolf whistle as Ron put his right hand where he had been told to do so.

McGonagall looked over at Filch. "Mr. Filch, if you please?"

Filch fiddled with the phonograph for a few moments before it started playing music.

"1, 2, 3...1, 2, 3..." McGonagall counted as they began to waltz around the room.

Once the demonstration was finished, we were all instructed to pair up and practice the dance. Neville seemed to be the only one willing to dance with any of the girls.

"I'll be your partner, Harry," I offered, walking over to my brother.

Harry looked really grateful. "Thanks."

I put one hand on Harry's shoulder. One of his hands went on my waist. It was a little awkward at first, because we were brother and sister, but we got used to it quickly.

"Alright, every time I move forward, you move back. If you move forward, I move back. Same thing with sidestepping," I directed. "It's like doing box steps, but with two people."

"Hopefully I don't step on your foot," Harry said.

I laughed. "It's okay if you do."

We started to waltz. I intentionally went slow at first to give Harry time to pick the dance up. He stumbled a few times, but he wasn't too bad for a beginner. I guess I should be one to talk, because I'm just as much a rookie at ballroom dancing as he is. I gradually began to speed up, just a little, so we were going at a normal pace...you know, for waltzing. As we gradually moved faster, we also moved around the room instead of just dancing in one spot. I really enjoyed it because it was a lot of fun _and_ it was a good way to bond more with my brother.

"Not bad for a beginner," I remarked.

He smiled sheepishly as he twirled me around. "I could say the same about you."

I giggled. "Why thank you."

* * *

The weeks before the ball were ticking down and people were rushing to get dates and dresses. I was all set with both; I had purchased my dress a few days ago, and I was attending the ball with my boyfriend. Hermione didn't have a date, as far as I knew, and neither did the boys.

"Why do they have to move in packs?" Harry asked Ron as a dozen or so girls walked past us, sniggering and staring at him. "How're you supposed to get one on their own to ask them?"

"Lasso one?" Ron suggested, making me roll my eyes. _That's not funny_.

Harry stopped in front of the group of girls, trying to find the courage to ask one of them to the ball, but he bailed.

Ron shrugged. "Well, we know Cassia's already going with her boyfriend. Got any idea who you're going to try?"

Harry was silent. So was I. He and I both knew perfectly well who he was planning to ask - Cho Chang - but working up the nerve was something else for him. Even though she was a year older, I could see why Harry was crushing on her. She was very pretty; she was a very good Quidditch player, and she was very popular.

"Blimey, Harry. You've slayed dragons," Ron remarked.

"No, he told me the dragon crashed into one of the bridges," I corrected him.

"Touché," Ron said. "Point is, if _you_ can't get a date, who can?"

"I think I'd take the dragon now," Harry replied, looking back at the girls, who were still gawking at him.

I wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "If Cedric and I weren't already going to the ball, I'd go with you."

"You really mean that?" Harry asked.

"Of course! You're my brother," I replied.

He cracked a smile. "Thanks, baby sis."

I playfully rolled my eyes at that. "You're only older than me by 15 seconds! How does that make me the 'baby' out of the two of us?"

"Kidding," Harry said, slinging an arm around my shoulders. "But can you promise me something?"

"Sure," I answered.

Harry smiled. "Save a dance for me?"

I very daintily placed my hand in his own. "It would be my pleasure, Mr. Potter," I said in a fancy voice.

* * *

Unfortunately, Professor Snape made us complete an assignment for Potions the day before the ball. Not just me and Harry, though. Our whole class had to do it. We all sat in the Great Hall, working tirelessly to complete the assignment. Let's just say some of us were able to concentrate better than others.

"This is mad. At this rate, we'll be the only ones without dates," Ron whispered, making Snape thump him hard on the back of his head with a notebook. As Snape moved on to another table, Ron added, "Well, us and Neville."

"Yeah, but then again, he can take himself," Harry whispered back. They both snickered as quietly as possible to avoid getting thumped on the head again.

"It might interest you to know that Neville's already got someone," Hermione whisper-snapped.

I nodded. "Yep. He's got a date."

Ron groaned silently at this news. "Now I'm _really_ depressed." Fred slipped him a piece of paper. He read it with Harry looking over his shoulder. "Get a move on or all the good ones will have gone." He shoved the note back at Fred. "Who're you going with, then?"

Fred glanced about to make sure Snape wasn't watching. When he saw the coast was clear, he crumpled up a piece of paper and threw it at Angelina, making her look at him with annoyance and confusion. "Oi, Angelina!" he whispered. He mouthed 'Will you go to the ball with me?', acting it out as well.

"The ball?" Angelina whispered. "Yeah." Well, that's _one_ way to get a date.

Fred smirked and winked at Ron to rub it in.

Ron looked at Hermione, who was sitting next to him. "Hermione, you're a girl," he said.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Very well spotted."

"Go with one of-" Ron was cut off by Snape hitting him over the head with a notebook first, and then Harry. "Come on, it's one thing for a bloke to show up without a date. For a girl, it's just sad," he corrected himself once Snape walked away.

"I won't be going alone because, believe it or not, someone's asked me!" Hermione snapped. She marched up to Snape and handed him her notebook. Then she came back and grabbed her books. "And I said yes!" She left.

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered. He glanced at Harry. "She's lying, right?"

Harry shrugged. "If you say so..."

"Look, we've just got to grit our teeth and do it," Ron said.

I glanced across the way and saw Snape pulling the cuffs of his sleeves up. _Uh oh._ "Guys..." I whispered.

"When we go back to the common room, we'll both have partners. Agreed?"

"Guys..." I repeated as Snape approached us.

"Agreed," Harry whispered back.

Snape grabbed the back of Ron's head with one hand and did the same to Harry with his other hand, and forced them down so that they were bent over their notebooks, earning a painful grunt from the two of them.

I shrugged. "I tried to warn you..." _Some people just never listen to me._

Later on, Harry and I were in Gryffindor Tower, cuddling together on the couch in the common room. I read a muggle book that I had previously checked out in the library. Harry rested his head on his shoulder, reading silently along with me. He was sad because when he'd asked Cho to the ball and she had turned him down.

I looked up from my reading when we heard the portrait swing open and Ginny led a mortified Ron into the common room.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"He just asked Fleur Delacour out," Ginny replied, helping Ron to sit in one of the chairs.

Hermione looked just as appalled as we were. "What?!"

"What did she say?" I asked.

"No, of course," Hermione reckoned.

Ron shook his head. He looked totally embarrassed.

"She said yes?!" Hermione and I exclaimed.

"Don't be silly. There she was, walking by...you know I like it when they walk...and I couldn't help it. It just, sort of...slipped out," Ron told us.

"Actually, he sort of screamed it at her," Ginny said, "It was a bit frightening."

"What did you do then?" Harry asked.

Ron sighed. "What else? I ran for it!"

Harry jumped up once he saw the Patil twins walk by us. "Wait!" he called out, trying to catch up to them.

* * *

Hermione twirled in front of me and Ginny. "Do I look okay, guys?" she asked. But she didn't look like Hermione at all. She had done something with her hair; it was no longer bushy but sleek and shiny, and twisted up into an elegant knot at the back of her head. A few loosely-curled strands escaped, falling over her right shoulder. Her ombré pink dress was made of a floaty material that was almost silk-like in appearance. The bodice was light pink, and then the cascading ruffles on the skirt gradually faded to a dark magenta. A magenta ribbon was tied around the waistline of the dress. To finish the look, Hermione had bought a pair of matching heels with straps that buckled around her ankles, and light pink flower earrings.

I smiled. "Gorgeous."

"You look like a princess," Ginny added. She looked over at me. "Now that Hermione and I already put on our dresses, I can't wait to see what yours looks like, Cassia." We had decided to let her get ready with us tonight. Her dress was a mix between pink, blush, and light green. The light green collar and sleeves had a vintage feel-if you looked closely, you could see they were adorned with white lace at the end. Three pink buttons in the shape of stars fell in a vertical line down the front of the bodice, which was a light shade of blush. A matching pink ribbon was tied around the waist, and the tulle skirt alternated between light green and blush. To complete the look, she'd added a necklace. It wasn't anything too flashy, just a silver pendant on a light green ribbon. Hermione did her hair and I did her makeup. Ginny's hair was straight, as it usually was, but in a half-up half-down style that somewhat resembled a waterfall braid, tied together with a pink ribbon. I gave her a very neutral look with the makeup, to showcase her natural beauty.

I eagerly grabbed my dress from where it was hanging on one of the curtain rods of my four-poster bed. Since the day I had bought it, I'd kept it in its bag. That's how paranoid I was about not ruining it. It cost me 19 Galleons, for crying out loud! I took it into the bathroom with me and locked the door so I could have some privacy while I changed. Butterflies filled my stomach as I unzipped the bag and took the dress off the hanger. My dress was a ballgown, strapless and silver on the top, with a midnight blue skirt. What made it such a standout was that the entire dress was basically covered in sparkles.

I opened the door just wide enough to poke my head out without showing my dress, deciding to surprise the girls with my completed look. "Close your eyes, guys. No peeking! That means you, Ginny!"

"Shut up," Ginny muttered playfully as she and Hermione closed their eyes.

I picked up my skirt as I exited the bathroom, making my way over to the foot of my bed, where my black heels rested, seeming to wait for me. There were two reasons why I opted to wear plain black high heels: 1) they matched my dress pretty well, and 2) basically the same reason why I chose not to wear jewelry-sparkly shoes would be too much and detract from me. With my shoes on, I carefully walked over to stand in front of Ginny and Hermione. "3...2...1...open your eyes," I said.

Hermione and Ginny opened their eyes and gasped in unison. They looked flabbergasted at the sight of me all glammed up.

"Oh my gosh, Cassia, you look amazing!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Wait until Cedric sees you-his jaw is going to hit the floor," Hermione added.

I playfully rolled my eyes. "Says the girl who's going with the Durmstrang heartthrob."

This remark earned me a warning glare from Hermione. She pointed her finger at me. "Don't even go there."

After checking ourselves over in the mirror one last time, we headed down to the Great Hall, linking arms with each other. We got to the last staircase leading to those big double doors and stopped, hiding behind the wall. Looking out, I saw that the entrance hall was packed with students, all milling around waiting for eight o'clock, when the doors to the Great Hall would be thrown open. Those people who were meeting partners from different Houses were edging through the crowd trying to find one another. Ginny waved goodbye to us and walked off to find Neville, leaving Hermione and I alone.

We peered around the corner and saw Harry, Parvati, Ron, and Padma.

"I'm not sure I can do this, Cassia," Hermione whispered to me. I could see her nerves were getting the best of her.

"Why don't we go down the stairs together?" I suggested.

Her nervousness vanished, and she nodded. She grasped my hand in her own, and together, we descended the stairs. Almost everyone's eyes were fixated on us. A great majority felt the need to do a double-take. Parvati's mouth dropped when she saw us. She said something to Harry, who agreed, his attention drawn to Cho, who stood across the way. When he realized what Parvati was talking about, he looked up at the staircase to see us approaching. He had the biggest shocked face I have ever seen.

"Cassia? Hermione? Is - is that really you?" he asked, glancing between us.

I nodded, while Hermione gave a shy smile. She seemed too anxious to speak at the moment, so I wasn't going to pressure her to do so.

"You guys look amazing," Harry complimented us.

"Thanks, Harry." I hugged him.

Viktor, dressed in red formal wear, made his way over to Hermione. He looked to be mesmerized by her beauty as he offered her his hand like a gentleman. As she let Viktor lead her to the closed doors standing between us and the Great Hall, Hermione waved at us.

 **Cedric's POV**

I stood outside the doors to the Great Hall, talking with a few of my friends. Cassia was nowhere in sight. The last time I saw her was around four-fifteen, right before she and Hermione had left to go get ready for the ball. She hadn't shown me her dress or told me what she was going to do with her hair and makeup, so I had yet to see the finished product. It didn't matter what she looked like, though. No matter what she wore, Cassia was always beautiful in my eyes. Both inside and out.

"Merlin...is that Cassia Potter?" I heard someone ask, looking towards the stairs. I followed their gaze to see Cassia standing near Harry, clad in a silver and midnight blue strapless gown. One glance at her took my breath away. Her dress, riddled with sparkles, made her shine brighter than the stars. The bodice was fitted, and then the skirt puffed out into a big ball gown. She hadn't applied much makeup. Very subtle, but just enough to make her green eyes pop. Normally, her hair was straightened, but now it was swept over her right shoulder, falling in soft voluminous waves. She truly looked like the belle of the ball.

Everything around us seemed to vanish. My mind was blocking everything else out; it was like we were the only two people in the room. Cassia looked like she was on top of the world. Seeing the joy on her face made my heart skip a beat.

We had to stop for a few moments, since both of us were becoming a bit tired. The music changed once we had regained our lost energy.

"They're all looking at you," Cassia whispered as we started dancing again.

I shook my head. "Believe me, love, they're all looking at you."

 **Cassia's POV**

I giggled as Cedric twirled me, the tulle skirt of my dress flowing around me and making me feel like Cinderella. It was such an amazing feeling, waltzing with the boy I had fallen in love with less than a year ago-I can't even describe it.

Our dance soon ended, and the entire school clapped and cheered for us. A rock band known as the Weird Sisters (ironic, because they're all boys) got onto the stage once the applause died down.

"Hogwarts, are you ready?!" the lead singer yelled.

It's a good thing we got off the dance floor when we did, because the dance floor turned into a giant mosh pit. Professor Flitwick somehow wound up involuntarily crowdsurfing. Watching that happen was one of the highlights of my night so far.

Cedric led me over to one of the tables, where Harry and Ron were sitting with Padma and Parvati, who looked bored out of their wits. "I'll go grab us a drink. Alright, love?" he said.

I nodded and took a seat next to Harry, just as a Durmstrang boy approached us. "May I have your arm?" he asked, offering his hand to Parvati.

"Arm, leg...I'm yours," Parvati accepted, taking his hand and letting him take her back to the dance floor.

"Looks like you had fun out there, sis," my brother remarked.

Ron huffed. "At least somebody did."

"Are you going to ask me to dance or not?" Padma asked. She seemed jealous that her sister was dancing and she wasn't.

"No," Ron answered.

Padma responded by abruptly getting up and walking to the dance floor, joining the mosh pit. Not too long after she did, Cedric returned with two glasses of water and took a seat to my right. I thanked him before taking a sip, secretly slipping my already-burning feet out of my heels to give them a break. Beads of sweat had formed on my forehead. Thank goodness I had charmed my makeup so it wouldn't get ruined if that happened. My hair had also maintained the style I had initially put it in, but it wasn't all swept to one side anymore. The voluminous black waves now fell down my back, exposing both of my shoulders.

I picked up my menu and studied the different options. The dinner plates had been enchanted so that whatever food the person ordered by speaking directly to the menus would appear. Dumbledore had demonstrated this by simply saying "Pork chops" to his, and pork chops appeared on the plate.

"Hot, isn't it?" Hermione spoke, diverting my attention from the menu I was holding. "Viktor's gone to go and get drinks. Would you care to join us?" she offered.

Harry was about to accept, but Ron spoke first. "No. We would not care to join you and Viktor," he spat.

"What's got your wand in a knot?" Hermione asked.

"He's a Durmstrang," Ron spat.

"So?" I questioned. Who spit in _his_ pumpkin juice?

"Cassia, she's fraternizing with the enemy," Ron told me.

Hermione had a look of utter disbelief on her face. "The enemy?!" she echoed. "Who was it wanting his autograph? Besides, the whole point of the tournament is international magical cooperation, to make friends."

"I think he's got a bit more than friendship on his mind," Ron grumbled.

Angered by his words, Hermione got up and left.

* * *

Later on, after a splendid dinner of roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, and steamed asparagus, Harry and I took to the dance floor. The Weird Sisters sang a slow-dancing song as a nice refresher from the rock n' roll songs they had done earlier. At the request of one of the girls, they were currently singing a cover of a song called "Humble & Kind" by Tim McGraw. He was a Muggle country artist from the United States. I'd heard one or two of his songs on the radio in Dora's apartment. Two weeks after she had moved in, I was hanging out with her after she'd finished her Auror training for the day, and we were listening to the radio she'd gotten in downtown London, and while I was flipping stations looking for a good song to listen to, I found one that was primarily country music, and the current artist singing happened to be Tim McGraw. I really liked his song that the Weird Sisters were singing right now. It really described Harry's personality.

I intertwined my arms around my brother's neck as we danced together. Harry twirled me every so often, and he sometimes even dipped me. _He's gotten so much better at this than last time!_

"Thanks, baby sis," Harry said suddenly.

"I said that out loud, didn't I?" I assumed.

He nodded. "Pretty much."

I gave a shy smile. "Well, it's the truth."

The song soon ended and we left the dance floor, but as we were walking back to our table, the sound of shouting caught my ears.

"What?! What?! _That's_ what you think?!" we heard Hermione exclaim.

"Yeah, that's what I think," Ron replied. Harry and I saw them leaving the Great Hall and decided to follow.

"Well, you know the solution then, don't you?" Hermione snapped, walking after Ron.

"Go on," Ron taunted.

She cornered him. "Next time, there's a ball, pluck up the courage and ask me before somebody else does! And not as a last resort!" I saw tear stains on her cheeks.

"Well, that's...that's completely off the point," Ron fumbled.

Hermione turned around and looked at us, particularly Harry. "Where have you been?" She shook her head. "Never mind. Off to bed, both of you!"

Ron leaned close to Harry and muttered, just barely audible, "They're scary when they get older."

"Ron, you've spoiled everything!" Hermione screamed at him, making the two boys bolt back to the common room in fright. She sank to the ground, undoing her shoes and weakly throwing them aside as she started crying.

I sat down next to her and put an arm around her. "Pay no attention to his words, 'Mione. He'll have put this behind him within a few days."

"I-I know, Cassia. But it just...hurts," she said through her tears.

"Wanna know what I think?" I asked. "I think Ron's just jealous."

She sniffled. "Why?"

I grinned. "Because he missed out on taking an amazing girl like you to the ball."

Hermione chuckled, wiping away her tears. "You know what? You're right, Cassia." She hugged me. "Thanks for cheering me up."

I patted her shoulder. "What are friends for?" An idea popped into my brain. "Hey, why don't we go dance together?"

"Okay!" Hermione conceded. She started to put her shoes back on, but I stopped her.

"You're not gonna need those," I said to her.

Hermione had a skeptical look on her face. "You're not seriously suggesting we dance barefoot, are you?"

"It's not like anyone would notice," I pointed out.

We went back into the Hall and left our shoes under our table, before heading back to the dance floor. Some people did look at us funny, but we ignored it and continued dancing, making the most of our last couple of hours at the ball before it ended at the stroke of midnight. It was a night that would be embedded in my memory forever.


	55. Research on the clue

**Cassia's POV**

As soon as Christmas break was over, I dove right back into mentoring Harry and Cedric and preparing them for the second task. In order for me to do that, however, we had to get the clue without either one of the eggs screeching like nails on a chalkboard. I would literally spend hours after classes and after meals trying to nut this out, and the stress was really starting to take its toll on me. My energy during the day was almost fully depleted. Focusing in classes was borderline impossible for me now, due to lack of sleep (my pale skin and the dark circles under my eyes showed that), and I had awful headaches.

Which brings me to today. After my classes were all finished, I found a note in my bag. I unfolded it and read it to myself.

 _Hey, love._  
 _I'm hoping you have some energy left for a date tonight. Make sure you have a swimsuit on under your robes after dinner, and meet me near the kitchen corridor at 8:15 tonight._  
 _See you then._  
 _-Cedric_

Seeing that note and the prospect of having a date with my boyfriend to look forward to made me perk up right away, like I'd just had a shot of espresso.

I snuck into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom so I could wash my makeup off alone. Concealer, makeup...everything. Wow, I REALLY need to get some sleep tonight, I thought as I looked in the mirror at my eyes. The dark circles were so bad that they looked like bruises.

"Well, well, look what Filch swept up," I heard a familiar, taunting voice remark, making my head snap up. Despite the mirror being a little cloudy, I could still see who it was.

"Myrtle?" I hadn't seen her since second year, when the Chamber of Secrets was opened.

"Nice to see you again, Cassia," she greeted. She floated closer and took in my appearance, dark circles and all. "You look awful."

"Gee, thanks," I snapped.

She put her hands up. "No need to get snippy..."

I heaved a sigh. "Sorry, Myrtle. The second task of the Triwizard Tournament is coming up, and I can't for the life of me figure out the clue for the golden egg, and it's stressing me out."

Her face softened. "Oh." She floated closer to me. "You haven't been to see me for ages, you know."

This was true, though only because Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I had found Myrtle's bathroom a convenient place to brew Polyjuice Potion in secret, a forbidden potion that had turned my brother and Ron into Crabbe and Goyle for an hour so they could sneak into the Slytherin common room to see if Malfoy was involved with the chamber of secrets opening. After that _and_ rescuing Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets, we thought it was best if we didn't return to that bathroom for a while.

"It's a long story, but let's just say my brother and I have been busy," I summed it up.

"I see," she said. "Not being naughty, are you?"

"It's funny, even though we're not looking for trouble, it somehow manages to find us," I remarked. "This time, Harry's a champion in the Triwizard Tournament, along with my boyfriend, and I have to mentor both of them."

Myrtle's expression became sympathetic. "No wonder you're so stressed..."

I nodded. "I know...at least I have a date with my boyfriend to look forward to."

Her eyes brightened up. "Who are you going with?"

"Cedric Diggory," I admitted, feeling a light blush appear on my face.

"Ooh...he's quite the catch," Myrtle gushed. "I'm jealous. So what're you going to do on your date tonight?"

I rummaged through my bag and pulled out the note. "I don't know. He didn't say. The only hint on this note he slipped me earlier was that I had to wear a bathing suit, so it's probably a swimming date. The question is, where?" It couldn't be the Black Lake-the water there was way too cold, and there was also the risk of getting points taken off for being out after curfew.

Myrtle flew even closer so she could read the note. She grinned at me, all of a sudden, her eyes alight with excitement behind those thick glasses. "Oh...I think I know where he's taking you."

"You do?" I asked. "Where?"

Her grin got bigger. "That's for you to find out." She sped away from me, diving headfirst into one of the toilets, creating a big splash in her wake, strongly reminding me of the first time we had encountered her.

I sighed, shaking my head. "Oh, Myrtle..."

 _Looks like I'm just gonna have to wait until tonight._

* * *

I rushed back to my dorm after dinner, and grabbed a bikini from one of my drawers-nothing special, just a purple halter top (chapter pic) with some beading in the middle, and plain black bottoms. It was all covered by my uniform, except I had discarded my tie and my black Hogwarts robe, and I was wearing slippers on my feet instead of normal shoes. Cedric's golden egg sat on top of my dresser. I looked over at it, wondering if I should bring it with me. On the one hand, it seemed like a bad idea, considering I didn't want anything distracting me during my alone time with Cedric, but on the other hand, we might be able to figure it out together. You know, kill two birds with one stone.

Wrapping an arm around the egg, I exited my dormitory and started to walk out of the common room. Right as the portrait hole opened for me to leave, Hermione entered.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Well...Ceddy and I have a date," I admitted sheepishly.

Hermione grinned, before she notice of my holding the egg. "And you're holding the egg because...why?"

"I thought maybe Ceddy could help me with the clue, because it's really frustrating me that I can't do it myself," I said.

"Maybe..." she agreed. "Good luck. And have fun on the date."

I started to go, but I turned and called over my shoulder, "Tell Harry not to wait up!"

She laughed. "Don't worry, I will!"

The portrait door closed behind me, and I headed downstairs to the basement level, where the kitchen corridor would be. Goosebumps formed on my skin from anticipating where Cedric was taking me.

Walking down all those stairs to the basement level seems like a long time, but for me, it wasn't. It was actually a fast trip, and before I knew it, I saw Cedric waiting for me as I rounded the corner. I felt a twinge of nostalgia, remembering the first time I met him, literally ramming into him as I headed around a corner on my way to Potions class.

He pulled me close to his chest, wrapping his arms around my frame. "How are you, love?"

I let out a soft hum as the sound of his heartbeat echoed against my ear. "Better now that you're with me."

"How come you brought the egg?" he questioned.

I tapped the egg with my index finger nervously. "I, uh...I was hoping we could figure out the clue on our date. I've tried doing it myself, and I just can't, and it's driving me nuts."

"Shh..." Cedric kissed the top of my head. "Don't worry about a thing, Cassi. We'll get that clue together. But first, I'm going to help relieve your stress." He laced his fingers with mine and led me out of the corridor, back up about five flights of stairs.

We reached a statue of a lost-looking wizard with his gloves on the wrong hands, and his clothes inside-out and backwards. Cedric approached one of two doors near the statue, leaned close to it, and whispered, "Pine fresh."

The door creaked open. He led me inside, bolting the door behind us. He started to remove his robes while I gazed around.

"What is this place?" I asked.

"This is the prefects' bathroom. Well, technically, it's not just limited to prefects. Quidditch captains and the Head Boy and Head Girl of every house is allowed in here," Cedric explained.

Now I wished I could be a prefect, or Quidditch captain. It'd be worth it if it meant I was able to use this bathroom. It was softly lit by a splendid candle-filled chandelier, and everything was made of white marble, including an empty, rectangular bathtub, big enough to pass for a swimming pool, sunk into the middle of the floor. About a hundred golden taps stood all around the pool's edges, each with a differently-colored jewel set into its handle. There was also a diving board. Long white linen curtains hung at the windows; a large pile of fluffy white towels sat in the corner, and there was a single golden-framed painting on the wall. It featured a blonde mermaid who was fast asleep on a rock, her long hair over her face. It fluttered every time she snored.

I picked up one of the fluffy towels and placed it, along with the egg, at the edge of the pool, and then walked over to the taps. Two in particular caught my eye, one had a citrine gemstone in the handle, and another had a light blue jewel that I guessed was an aquamarine. Turning them both on, I could tell at once that each tap carried different sorts of bubble bath mixed in with the water, though it wasn't any bubble bath I had ever experienced before. The bubbles were so thick and large they looked like giant clouds of pale orange and icy blue. An intoxicating aroma of jasmine mixed with wild orange blossoms filled my nostrils.

A faint giggle caught my ear, and I looked up to see it was the mermaid in the portrait. She had just woken up, presumably from the sound of the gushing water, and she was smiling and flapping her tail excitedly. _What was she getting so worked up about?_

She was looking past me, at something across the way. I followed suit and realized that she was gawking at Cedric, who had taken off his robes. He was shirtless, clad only in simple black swim trunks that cut off just above his knees. Boy, he was _hot_! I couldn't take my eyes off his muscular arms and his toned chest and stomach, with just barely-visible abs.

Cedric grinned at my reaction to him. "Like what you see, love?"

My cheeks began to burn and I felt a blush coming on.

He chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes, then."

Once the deep pool was full of hot water, foam, and bubbles, which took a very short time considering its size, I turned off the taps and crossed back over to the spot where I had placed my towel and the egg. I stripped off all my outer clothing until just my swimsuit was left. My hair had been in a messy bun all day today because I was too tired to do anything else with it this morning. Reaching up, I pulled the elastic out of my hair and shook it out, letting my hair fall down my back. Because it had been tied up like that, it was now slightly curled at the ends.

Hearing a gasp from behind me, I turned around to see Cedric gazing, awestruck, at my body.

"Like what you see?" I mimicked him, smirking.

He blushed, just as I had previously done, and gently lowered himself into the water. I slipped in right next to him. It was so deep that my feet barely touched the bottom, and I actually did a couple of lengths before swimming back over to Cedric, who had just taken a seat on the edge of the bath.

"C'mere," he beckoned. I floated as close to him as I could get. He twirled one of his index fingers in a circle, and I turned so that my back was to him. I felt him place his hands on my bare shoulders and start to rub them in clockwise circles with his thumbs, applying just the right amount of pressure. I groaned in pleasure, already feeling the tension in my body recede.

"That feel good?" Cedric asked.

"Mm-hmm..." I hummed in reply.

Half an hour passed before he stopped rubbing my shoulders. My body was so relaxed that I felt like it'd turned to jelly.

I kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks, Ceddy. I needed that."

"Oh, it was nothing..." he waved it off, sliding back into the bath. Since he was taller than me by a healthy margin, obviously he was able to stand in the deep water. "So we know the egg shrieks whenever we open it."

I nodded. "Harry's egg did that when he first opened it. It was awful."

Cedric rested his chin on his hand, thinking hard. "Hmm...Professor Moody asked me if I tried putting my egg in water."

"We could try," I contemplated.

"Let's give it a go," Cedric advised.

I grabbed the egg from behind me and placed it in the water. I lowered the egg beneath the foamy surface and opened it...and this time, it didn't screech. A muffled song was coming out of it, a song whose words I couldn't distinguish through the water.

Taking a great breath, Cedric and I slipped under the surface. A chorus of eerie voices sang to us from the open egg in my hands:

 _"Come seek us where our voices sound  
An hour long you'll have to look,  
To recover what we took  
But past an hour, the prospect's black  
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back..."_

We resurfaced and I put the egg back on the edge of the pool, giving my head a quick shake to move my jet-black hair out of my face.

"Since the egg couldn't sing until we opened it underwater, it looks like that's what the next task entails. I'd guess the Black Lake. It's the closest body of water to the school," I deciphered. "The third verse is obvious; you only have an hour to complete the task, but...what about that other part of the song?"

Cedric hummed. "Here, give me the egg so I can listen to it again."

I handed him the egg and he sank back beneath the water. It took two more underwater renditions of the egg's song before he had it memorized; then he tread water for a while, thinking hard about what the rest of the song meant regarding the task.

"So we have to go into the Black Lake and recover something that we'll sorely miss, within an hour..." he mused.

"That means we have to find some way to enable you to breathe underwater," I added, sitting on the edge of the bath. Something about the song bothered me-who or what exactly had sung it?

"Something wrong, love?" Cedric asked, halting my train of thought.

"I was just thinking about what could've sang the song," I responded, propping a hand against my cheek. "Chances are they'll also be the one who steals what you'll sorely miss."

Cedric nodded in understanding. "It couldn't be the giant squid, I'm assuming."

A thought struck me. "Wait a minute, what else lives in the lake besides the giant squid?"

Our eyes suddenly fell on the picture of the mermaid on the wall.

"Mermaids," we both said at once.

* * *

"Guys, tell me again," Hermione said. Tomorrow morning, the second task would take place, and Harry still had yet to figure out a method to breathe underwater for an hour. Just two days ago, Cedric had given him a hint on how to get the clue from the egg, and Harry had gone down to the prefects' bathroom (under the guise of the Invisibility Cloak) that night. Since then, we've been looking through every book in the library for something that could possibly help him with the task. Cedric was already all set, planning to use the Bubblehead Charm. We had practiced in the prefects' bathroom, as I had him use it to retrieve my snitch necklace from the bottom of the pool.

Harry sighed. "Come seek us where our voices sound."

"The Black Lake. That's obvious," Hermione noted.

"That and the 'hour long' part were obvious," I stated, not taking my eyes off the shelf I was looking through.

"Very obvious, though potentially problematic," Hermione observed.

Harry shot upright in his chair. "Potentially problematic?! When was the last time you held your breath underwater for an hour, Hermione?" he snapped.

I slumped into a chair next to him. "I would've suggested using human Transfiguration, but we don't learn that for at least another year or two."

"There goes my idea of turning into a submarine," Ron remarked.

"Ron, Transfiguration isn't a joking matter," I pointed out.

"Cassia's right. It can go horribly wrong if you don't know what you're doing," Hermione added.

"Yeah, I don't really fancy walking around with a periscope for a head," Harry commented dryly.

"Wait..." I looked across the way at Neville, who had his nose in a Herbology volume. "Neville, do you have that book on magical water plants with you?"

"Yeah," he said, pulling it out. "Why?"

"Is there anything in it about something that will allow a person to breathe underwater?" I pressed.

He opened it and thumbed through several pages before stopping almost halfway through. "Here's something-Gillyweed."

I beckoned him over. He came, placing the book on the table, and we all looked at the section of the page where it spoke about Gillyweed.

 _Commonly located in or near the Mediterranean Sea, Gillyweed is widely regarded in the field of magical water plants for its distinctive properties. Hence the name, those who consume Gillyweed are temporarily given fish-like qualities, primarily gills on either side of the head, permitting him or her to breathe underwater for a limited period of time._

Relief washed over me. "Thank you, Neville. Thank you so much."

"No problem," he replied.

Someone cleared their throat behind me. It was Professor Moody. "Hate to break up the skull session, but Professor McGonagall would like to see you in her office." He stopped Harry and Ron as they made a move to get up from their seats. "Not you boys. Just female Potter and Granger."

"Professor, we don't have time for this. The task is tomorrow morning," I tried to protest.

"Exactly," Moody declared. "Presumably, your brother and Diggory are well-prepared by now and could do with a good night's sleep. Go." We hesitated. "Now!" he yelled.

I put my hands up. "Alright, alright, we're going!"

Hermione and I sent the boys a sorry look, before leaving the library.

"What do you think McGonagall wants at this time of night?" she asked me as we proceeded through the corridors. She did have a point; the  
last time I had checked the time on my watch, it was almost midnight.

I shrugged in response. "Couldn't tell you, 'Mione."

As we approached McGonagall's office, I saw the door was wide open. Fleur's sister (Gabrielle, I think her name was- I'd only heard it mentioned once) and an older-looking boy - whom I had only glimpsed once before with Cedric when Harry and I had gone to tell him about dragons being involved in the first task - were standing in the middle of the room, facing McGonagall. To my surprise, Dumbledore and Professor Snape were also in the room. They looked up as soon as they heard us coming.

"Good. You're here." McGonagall rushed us into the room, having us stand next to Gabrielle and the other guy.

"You're Cassia, right? Cedric's girl?" the boy asked me in a whisper. Though not quite as handsome as Cedric was, he was still fairly good-looking.

I nodded. "Yes."

He held out his hand. "Nice to meet you. The name's Zachary. Zachary Bennett, but everyone just calls me Zack. Cedric's my best mate."

"Pleased to meet you, Zack," I returned the greeting, shaking his hand.

"Professor, what exactly is it that you requested us for?" Hermione asked.

It was Dumbledore who answered. "For those of you who are not aware, the second task in the Triwizard Tournament will take place in the Black Lake. Each of the champions will need to retrieve something of great importance from the depths of the lake, within the span of a single hour. The 'treasure', so to speak, is the person whom the champions would miss the most. That is where you come in," he informed us. "Miss Delacour and Miss Potter, you will each have to be rescued by your siblings. Miss Granger, you are Mr. Krum's treasure, and Mr. Bennett, you will be Mr. Diggory's treasure." He gestured for McGonagall to speak next.

"For the duration of the tournament, you will all be put under a sleeping enchantment and guarded underwater by the merpeople. Professor Snape and myself have collaborated on how to efficiently cast the enchantment so as to allow you to breathe while you are in your state of unconsciousness underneath the water," our Transfiguration professor explained.

 _Okay, these people have officially lost their marbles._ "This is insane..." I said, clutching at my necklace.

"I assure you, Miss Potter, all of you will be perfectly safe," McGonagall persuaded me. She looked over at Snape. "Severus, if you would?"

Snape pulled out a goblet and a vial filled with a lavender liquid. "The enchantment consists of a potion as well as a complex spell that will let you breathe underwater despite being in a deep slumber. For the potion, it is a combination of Fatiguing Infusion and a powerful Sleeping Draught," he described as he poured the vial's contents into the goblet. He levitated the glass, making it float over to me. "Inhale."

I tentatively sniffed the potion, which was emitting tiny puffs of purple smoke. It was a small sniff, but that didn't seem to make any difference. A wave of exhaustion overtook me. My legs basically gave out on me and I collapsed to the floor, my body succumbing to the effects of the potion, as my vision faded to darkness.


	56. Second task: Deep-sea treasure hunt

**Cedric's POV**

I woke up around 8:45 the next morning and set about getting ready for the task today. My roommates had all woken up earlier so they could grab breakfast before the task began.

Taking advantage of the extra privacy in my dorm, I changed into my swim trunks, along with a yellow tank top that had the Hufflepuff logo on it. A strap was fastened onto my right leg, where I would hold my wand for when I needed to activate the Bubblehead Charm. Over that, I wore black sweatpants and a grey hoodie. On my feet were a pair of white ankle socks and beige sneakers.

I grabbed my wristwatch from my bedside table and secured it onto my left wrist. The time now said it was 9:05. _Guess I'd better get going._ I left my dorm and headed downstairs. It took me about ten minutes to make my way down to the docks, where everyone else was starting to gather.

Fleur and Viktor were already waiting for me, but Harry still had yet to arrive. I guessed he was waiting for Ron to be done with breakfast so they could walk down here together. As a rule, the champions had to all ride in a boat together to the area in the middle of the lake, where the task would be taking place. We weren't allowed to board the boat unless all four of us were present.

Fred and George were - once again - going around collecting bets from the other students, which didn't surprise me. Since their betting on Ireland to win the Quidditch World Cup had ended with them being conned, they were using bets from the tournament to build the joke shop they've always wanted to open up.

"Three lads!" Fred called out.

"One lady!" George added.

"Four go down-" Fred trailed off.

"-but will four come up?" George finished his twin's question.

Ginny got annoyed with them. "Don't be so mean."

Fred and George merely shrugged in response and went back to collecting bets.

I scanned the crowds, trying to spot Cassia, but I couldn't. She had promised that she'd be there for Harry and I, cheering us on, but right now, she was nowhere to be found.

My friends Drew, Joseph, and Nathan waved at me to get my attention as they boarded a boat together. I was surprised to see that Zack wasn't with them. First, my girlfriend disappears, and now my best mate? There was no way it could have been a coincidence.

Harry arrived at the docks, accompanied by Ron and Neville. "You're sure about this, Neville?" he asked, holding a slimy, bright green substance in one hand.

Neville nodded. "Absolutely."

"For an hour?" Harry pressed.

Now Neville looked a bit unsure. "Most likely..."

"Most likely?" Harry echoed, unable to believe his ears.

Ron looked at Neville like he had two heads. "What do you mean, 'most likely'?"

"Well, there _is_ some debate among herbologists as to the effects of freshwater versus saltwater, so-" Neville confessed.

"You're telling me this now?! You must be joking!" Harry exclaimed.

"I-I just wanted to help," Neville stuttered.

Harry sighed. "Well, that makes you a right sight better than Hermione and Cassia." He looked around, worried. "Where _are_ they, anyway?"

Ron was equally concerned. "They never came back to the common room last night."

"You seem a little tense, guys," Neville observed.

"Do we?" Harry asked through clenched teeth.

Ron shook his head slightly as he and Neville went to grab a boat. "Hopefully they'll be here..."

Harry rushed over. "Cedric! Cedric, have you seen Cassia?" he asked. "I can't find her."

"No, I tried looking for her in the crowd, but I couldn't spot her," I said. "My best mate's gone missing as well."

"Strange," Harry mused.

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think there's something fishy going on here."

Professor McGonagall hustled us all into a boat, before getting into one with Dumbledore, Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime. Each of the boats floated towards a trio of structures with three levels. Both the higher and lower levels - save for the structure in the middle - were crowded with fellow students, cheering for their favorite champion. Amidst the noise, I could make out the Durmstrang boys calling out some kind of chant for Viktor.

We reached the middle structure and were quickly ushered off the boat. McGonagall and the three headmasters joined Mr. Crouch towards the back, while us champions removed the clothes we wore over our swimsuits in a far corner, and made our way to the edge of the platform. Several wolf-whistles echoed from above, directed at Fleur,

"Welcome to the second task!" Dumbledore announced. "Last night, something was stolen from each of our champions. A treasure, of sorts. These treasures, one for each champion, now lie at the bottom of the Black Lake. In order to win, each champion need only find their treasure and return to the surface. But they will have one hour to do so, and one hour only. After that, they are on their own. No magic will be able to save them. They will begin at the sound of the cannon."

The cannon went off with a loud boom. I had expected we would have another minute or so before having to dive in, but apparently, that was not the case. Clearly, Filch had a problem with waiting for the proper time to fire the cannon.

Fleur, Viktor, and I dove into the lake, but poor Harry was shoved, causing him to belly flop. I cringed. That hurt just watching it.

I pulled out my wand and cast the Bubblehead Charm. A large bubble formed around my nose and lips, stopping just above my collarbone.

A tingling sensation developed in my limbs as they grew numb, making it feel like they were on pins and needles. The water was so cold it burned, causing me some discomfort, but I ignored it as I swam down into the depths, my legs kicking like a frog behind me as I pushed myself forward with my arms.

I kept on the lookout for the giant squid in case he made an appearance, but thankfully, he never did. Only the grindylows were a threat at present. Occasionally, they would pop out of the green weed, trying to take me by surprise so they could attack me, but they weren't able to do much more than bite me, because I would either kick them off or blast them with a nonverbal spell.

A snippet of the mermaids' song filled my ears.

 _"Your time's half gone, so tarry not,_  
 _Lest what you seek stays here to rot..."_

Their warning drilled into my brain, forcing me to swim faster. I pushed myself to keep going despite the increasing pain my body was in.

Within minutes, I came to the mer-village. A cluster of crude stone dwellings, stained with algae, were scattered all over. Here and there at the dark windows, I could see faces pressed against the glass, watching me swim by. They bore no resemblance at all to the painting of the mermaid in the prefects' bathroom.

The merpeople had grayish skin and long, wild, dark green hair. Their eyes were yellow, as were their broken teeth, and they wore thick ropes of pebbles around their necks. Some of them emerged from their caves to get a better look at me, their powerful, silver fish tails beating the water, spears clutched in their hands.

I sped on, staring around, and soon the dwellings became more numerous; there were gardens of weed around some of them, and I even saw a pet grindylow tied to a stake outside one door. Merpeople were emerging on all sides now, watching me eagerly, particularly the females. Paying them no mind, I sped around a corner and a very strange sight met my eyes.

A whole crowd of merpeople was floating in front of houses lining the village square. In the center of the village was a crude sort of statue; a giant merperson hewn from a boulder. Four people were bound tightly to the tail of the stone merperson. Ropes of thick, slimy, strong seaweed were wrapped around their ankles, anchoring them to the statue.

Cassia was in between Hermione and Zack. A girl who looked no older than eight was next to Zack. Her clouds of silvery-blonde hair indicated that she was Fleur's sister. All four of them appeared to be in a very deep sleep, fine streams of bubbles issuing from their lips.

I swam closer and saw Harry had gotten to them first. He swam lower so that his head was level with Cassia's shoes, and began to untie the seaweed rope holding her captive.

I pulled out my wand and pointed it Zack's bonds. _Relashio!_ A jet of red water flew from my wand, freeing him.

Harry was alerted to my presence. He looked up at me, and I tapped my watch with my wand to tell him that time was running out, and he nodded understandingly. I then started swimming up to the surface of the lake. My muscles were really burning at this point, but I disregarded it. Getting myself and Zack out of the water before the Bubblehead Charm wore off was my top priority. I kept a tight grip on him as I swam us both upward as fast as my legs would go.

Cheers erupted as we reaurfaced. Zack coughed and spluttered beside me, and I felt the bubble around my face vanish. We swam over to a small ladder, clambering up it and onto the platform.

Madame Pomfrey bombarded us with towels and robes, and had us each down two potions; one was a Pepperup Potion to defend against catching a cold, while the other warmed us up speedily. I could see Fleur had already come up first, but since she hadn't rescued her sister, I discerned that she must have quit the task. As to why she did, I hadn't the slightest idea.

 **Harry's POV**

With Cedric reaching the hostages first and warning me about the time, I knew I had to pick up the pace. I freed Cassia quickly, grabbed her arm, and pulled her close to me. Strangely enough, there was no sign of any of the other champions. I had only glimpsed Fleur briefly before she was attacked by a grindylow, but Viktor hadn't arrived yet. What were they playing at? Why didn't they hurry up? I turned over to Hermione, raised my wand, ready to say the spell-

At once, several mermaids surrounded me, pointing their tridents at my throat.

"You take your own hostage," one of them said to me. "Leave the others..."

"But she's my friend!" I protested.

"Only one!" The mermaid hissed. But then her eyes shifted past me and she shrieked. So did the other mermaids, before they all swam away in fright.

I turned around just in time to see a shark - no, a shark's head on a human's body - speeding in my direction. The dark red swim clothes indicated that it was Viktor; he had used some type of Transfiguration spell to sprout a shark head. He bit the rope holding Hermione, freeing her, and pulled her back up with him.

Seeing as Fleur was still missing, I had to assume that she quit the task. Despite the rule that we could only take one hostage with us, I couldn't leave her sister down here. So I made the decision to take her with me as well. I pointed my wand at the little girl and severed the seaweed rope around her ankles with a quick " _Relashio_!" Wrapping my other arm around her, I made a break for the water's surface, relying solely on my legs kicking to propel myself up.

Trouble stirred when I was halfway there, in the form of hundreds of grindylows attacking me. They clawed and nipped at my legs, pulling me down. I kicked at them with my feet, trying hard to make them stop, but they weren't letting up. My holding both Cassia and Fleur's little sister only added to my trouble because the extra weight was making me sink further. I started to panic inside. The effects of the Gillyweed would certainly wear off soon, and if I didn't get out of the water quickly, there was a good chance I might drown, along with the two girls. I knew I had to get my wand to fend the grindylows off, so I let go of Cassia and the little girl, pushing them upward to the lake's surface with all my might. I pulled out my wand. " _Immobulus_!"

Every one of the grindylows froze for a few moments, before they all swam away. I was left absolutely winded from energy exertion and the sudden grindylow attack, and I began to sink back into the depths. I went to reach for my wand, but I wasn't sure if I had the strength to cast any sort of spell to get myself out of the water.

 **Cassia's POV**

I coughed, opening my eyes, as my head broke the surface of the water. Hearing someone choking and coughing next to me, I looked over at Gabrielle to see she was trying and failing to tread water. She wasn't a very strong swimmer, it seemed.

"Grab on," I encouraged, holding my arm out to her. She paddled closer and grabbed my upper arm tightly. Merci, Cassia," she coughed out. I kept both of my hands on her to support her as I swam us over to the ladder that lead back up onto one of the three-story structures that held students cheering, and where the judges - aka Dumbledore, Madame Maxime, and Karkaroff - were waiting.

Fleur knelt by the ladder and reached her hand out to Gabrielle, speaking to her in French.

I helped Gabrielle get up the ladder, following right behind her so I grab her if she slipped, but we both got up okay.

Fleur embraced Gabrielle tightly and they headed back over the other Beuaxbatons girls.

"Cassia!" I was nearly knocked over by Hermione jumping on me, wrapping her arms around me a bit too tightly. "You're alright!" she exclaimed.

"'Mione, I can't breathe..." I squeaked out.

"Sorry..." She let me go.

Cedric hugged me next, lifting me off the ground as he did so. "Thank goodness, I was worried sick about you!" He set me down, took off the robe he was given, and draped it over my shoulders.

"Wait a minute," I said, looking around. "Where's Harry?"

"That's what we're wondering about," Ron answered.

My jaw almost dropped. "You mean he hasn't come up yet?!" I raced to the edge of the platform and peered down, but I couldn't see anything-the water was too dark and murky. _Where is he? Is he okay? Oh my gosh, what if something bad happened to him down there?_

Someone grabbed me and pulled me away from the water before I could even think about diving in after him.

"Hey! Get off me! Harry's still in the lake!" I protested, fighting to free myself from the vice grip they had on me.

"I know," Cedric told me. "I'm sure he's fine. Just give him a couple of minutes."

"But the Gillyweed...it doesn't last forever. What if he drowns before he can reach the surface?" I asked, trembling with fear for my brother.

"He won't. He's as tough as you," Cedric reassured me, tapping my nose with his finger.

Luckily, I didn't have to worry for much longer, because about ten seconds later, Harry shot out of the water like a firework, landing hard onto the platform, coughing up excess water.

"Harry!" I rushed over, kneeling to his level and hugging him tightly, not caring about him soaking my robes; I was already wet anyway.

"Cassia..." he panted. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"No. I'm okay," I said, making him sigh in relief. I noticed he had several bite marks on his arms and legs. "What happened to you?"

"Grindylows..." he managed in between gasps as he tried to catch his breath.

I kissed his cheek. "I'm just so glad you're safe, Harry."

He hugged me back. "S-Same..."

Madam Pomfrey started to wrap him up in towels and put a robe on him, but I put a hand up to stop her.

"Here, let me help." I held both of Harry's hands and closed my eyes, willing for my fire powers to warm him up. Slowly but surely, they started to do their job. I felt warmth seeping into Harry's hands. When I felt his body temperature go back up to normal, I stopped.

"Thanks, sis," Harry said, before hugging me again.

Fleur came over and knelt to our level. "You saved her, even though she was not your 'ostage to save," she said breathlessly. "My little sister. Thank you!" She kissed Harry on both cheeks, and then said to me, "And you, too, you 'elped-"

I smiled shyly. "Okay, I helped a little..."

Fleur swooped down on me too and kissed me in the same manner as she had done to Harry.

"ATTENTION!" Dumbledore shouted, his magically magnified voice booming, making some of us clamp our hands over our ears. "The winner is...Mr. Diggory!"

Almost the entire student body broke into applause.

"...who showed unique command of the Bubblehead Charm. "Fleur Delacour, though she, too, demonstrated excellent use of the Bubblehead Charm, was attacked by Grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage," Dumbledore continued. "We award her twenty-five points."

"I deserved zero," Fleur said throatily, shaking her head.

"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, which has earned him forty points."

Karkaroff clapped particularly hard, looking very superior.

"And finally, seeing as Mr. Potter would have finished first, had it not been for his determination to not only rescue his sister, but the others as well, we award him forty-five points for outstanding moral fibre, which has put him into second place!"

Out of all the Gryffindors,I was cheering the loudest. Harry had finished in second place, which means that he and Cedric are now tied for first overall!

After that, everyone piled into the boats and we floated away from the structure. The boats docked seven or eight at a time, stopping so students could get out.

"All that moral fibre, eh?" Fred remarked, elbowing Harry as we got out of our boat and walked off the dock.

Ron shook his head in disbelief. "Blimey, even when you go wrong it turns out right..."

I threw my arm around my brother as we started to make our way up to the castle, before Mr. Crouch approached us.

Cedric blew me a kiss, before leaving with Zack and the rest of his housemates. I blew him one back as I watched him go.

"Congratulations, Mr. Potter. Fine achievement. Well done, boy," Mr. Crouch congratulated Harry.

"Thank you," Harry and I responded in unison. _I swear, we're becoming more and more like Ron's brothers!_

Mr. Crouch beckoned us to walk with him, and we complied. He led us away from the crowds of students.

"See you at Hagrid's, guys!" Ron called out as he and Hermione headed back up to the school.

"I'm sorry we haven't spoken. After all, your story is one I've heard many times. Quite remarkable, really," Mr. Crouch told us. "Tragic, of course, to lose one's family." He came to a stop. "Never whole again, are we? Still, life goes on. And here we stand."

Neither Harry nor myself could hold back a small smile.

Mr. Crouch smiled as well. "I'm sure your parents would be very proud today, of both of you."

"Bartemius!" we heard Professor Mood" call out, startling us. "Not trying to lure the Potter twins into one of the Ministry's summer internships, are we? Last boy who went into the Department of Ministries never came out!" I saw him lick his lip slightly.

Mr. Crouch took a couple of steps forward and seemed to have a short staring contest with Moody before walking away.

"And they say _I'm_ mad!" Moody barked after him.

* * *

"I remember when I first met you all. Biggest bunch o' misfits I ever set eyes on. Yeh reminded me of m'self a little. And here we all are, four years later," Hagrid remarked as we walked by the lake, where Harry and I had been with Crouch just a few hours prior.

"We're still a bunch of misfits," Ron pointed out, making me chuckle.

Hagrid grinned. "Well, maybe. But yeh've all got each other. And Harry, of course, soon ter be the YOUNGEST TRIWIZARD CHAMPION THERE'S EVER BEEN!" he shouted the last part.

Ron and Hermione cheered, and then all three of them started singing the school song as they kept walking.

I spotted something at the base of the tree in front of us. "What's that?"

"I dunno..." Harry replied. We advanced closer, stepping around the tree so we could have a better look. To our shock, it was Mr. Crouch, on the ground, his hat right next to him. His eyes were wide open, not moving or even blinking.

"Mr. Crouch?" Harry asked.

No answer came from him. I placed two index fingers near his neck, but found no pulse. He was dead.


	57. Stealing from Snape! No way! Wasn't us!

**Cassia's POV**

I caught Cedric after dinner the following evening, right as he was leaving the Great Hall. "Cedric, come with me. Harry and I have to tell you something. In private."

He followed me up to Gryffindor Tower with no hesitation. I thanked my lucky stars that he didn't have prefect patrol tonight. He joined Hermione and Ron on the sofa, while Harry and I stood in front of the fire, facing them, as we explained how we had seen Crouch's lifeless body as we were walking with Hagrid. My hands trembled the entire time we were talking about it.

"They'll cover this up, you watch. Fudge'll sell his soul before this gets out in the Daily Prophet," Ron growled.

"But why?" Harry asked, a little puzzled.

Ron sighed. "Look, nobody liked Crouch. I know this from my father. Loads of people wanted him dead. But he was a Ministry official. It's not even like he turned up stiff in Knockturn Alley. He was murdered at Hogwarts. This is a big deal."

"Who d'you reckon could've done this?" Cedric asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know, Ceddy, but there's definitely something fishy going on here. I mean, first the nightmares, then our scars are frequently hurting, then the Dark Mark, then Harry's name is mysteriously chosen for the Triwizard Tournament, and now this?"

Cedric massaged his temples. "It just doesn't add up. And there's no way this is all just a coincidence."

"You're right," Hermione concurred, "It isn't a coincidence." She fixed her gaze on both my brother and myself. "Surviving the tournament isn't the answer anymore. It's bigger than this. And I really think you guys should see Dumbledore."

"I think I'd agree," I replied. This was definitely bigger than the tournament. And probably a hell of a lot worse.

* * *

The start of the summer term normally meant rigorous training for the final Quidditch match of the year, but this time, it meant prepping Harry and Cedric for the last task of the tournament. Tonight, we had been informed what the task was going to be; navigating a gigantic maze with hedges at least twenty feet high, to find the Triwizard Cup at the heart of the maze. Sounds easy, right? Wrong. There was going to be danger at every turn, though no one mentioned what exactly we would be facing within the maze.

"I'll see you later, alright?" Cedric kissed me on the cheek before returning to the Hufflepuff common room. I blew him a kiss in return as I watched him leave.

Harry and I journeyed up to the Headmaster's office so we could talk to Dumbledore, but once the gargoyle had granted us entry, we saw that the door was locked. Pressing an ear against the door, I heard a grim conversation going on.

"A man has died here, Cornelius, and he won't be the last. You must take action," Dumbledore beseeched.

I motioned for Harry to come closer to the door and listen as well.

"I will not!" a stubborn voice snapped. Fudge. "In times like these, the wizarding world looks to its leaders for strength, Dumbledore."

"Then, for once, show them some," Dumbledore insisted.

"The Triwizard Tournament will not be cancelled! I will not be seen as a coward!" Fudge refused, quite adamant in his denial.

"But, surely, that is what's right, no matter what others think," Dumbledore insisted.

Fudge's stubbornness was replaced with anger. "What did you say?" he questioned. "What did you say to me?!"

"Excuse me, gentleman, it may interest you to know that this conversation is no longer private," Moody intervened. _Oh, shoot! He knew we were eavesdropping!_

The door unlocked and opened all on its own. Curiously enough, none of the three men appeared to be the least bit irritated at us.

"Harry, Cassia! Good to see you again," Fudge greeted us, his previous anger replaced with joy.

"I'm sorry. We didn't mean to interrupt," I apologized.

"We can come back later, Professor," Harry added.

Dumbledore put a hand up, dismissing our words. "Oh, not necessary. The Minister and I are done. I'll be back in a moment." He gestured toward the door. "Minister, after you." Once Moody and Fudge had left the room, he turned back to look at us and added, "Do feel free to indulge in a licorice snack in my absence, but I have to warn you, they're a wee bit sharp." He nodded to a bowl on his desk, and then closed the door behind him as he left.

Harry crossed over to the bowl, which was full of what looked like miniature, black clams. He picked up a handful, but they just, out of nowhere, started snipping at him, trying to bite his fingers.

"So _that's_ what he meant by 'sharp'," I grumbled, swatting the licorice snacks away, before they all scurried out of the room, through the bottom of the door.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a nearby cabinet door open, a shining, silvery light shining brightly as it did. Maybe Dumbledore forgot to lock it.

Curiosity got the best of both of us as we advanced to the cabinet. A shallow stone basin lay there, with odd carvings around the edge, and symbols that we didn't recognize. The silvery light was coming from the basin's contents, which were like nothing we had ever seen before. I couldn't tell whether the substance was liquid or gas. It was a bright, whitish silver, and it was moving ceaselessly; the surface of it became ruffled like water beneath wind, and then, like clouds, separated and swirled smoothly. It looked like light made liquid - or like wind made solid - I kept going back and forth between the two.

The surface of the silvery stuff inside the basin began to swirl very fast.

We bent closer, our noses almost making contact with the basin's contents. The silvery substance had become transparent, it looked like glass. Instead of the bottom of the basin, Harry and I were looking down at an enormous room below the surface of the mysterious substance, a room into which we seemed to be looking through a circular window in the ceiling.

I felt Dumbledore's office give an almighty lurch, and my stomach dropped as we were thrown forward and pitched headfirst into the substance. We both screamed as we fell for what felt like miles, before landing - surprisingly - on our feet, in the room.

I looked up at the high stone ceiling, expecting to see the circular window through which we had just been staring, but there was nothing there but dark, solid stone.

"Where are we?" Harry asked.

"I have no idea," I confessed.

There was no way this place could've been Hogwarts; we had never seen a room like this in the school. I had a feeling it must be underground, since there were no windows. No portraits hung on the wall. Combined with the dim light coming from torches on the walls, it gave the room a dark and foreboding vibe. An empty cage with spikes pointing menacingly inside stood in the center of the room. Rows and rows of witches and wizards were seated around every wall on benches, rising in levels, all positioned so they had a clear view of the cage.

Breathing hard and fast, Harry and I looked around us. Not one of the witches and wizards in the room (and there were at least two hundred of them) was looking at us. Not one of them seemed to have noticed that a pair of fourteen-year-old twins had just dropped from the ceiling into their midst.

We turned to the wizard next to us, only to find that it was Professor Dumbledore.

"Professor?" Harry asked.

But Dumbledore didn't move or speak. He ignored us completely.

A man came up to him from behind us. "Professor," he greeted, putting out a hand to shake, which went right through Harry's torso.

"Whoa..." I whispered with wide eyes. _That_ was an image I doubted would leave my brain for a while.

Then I had a flashback to when Harry and I had been sucked into Tom Riddle's diary two years ago. We had been shown a memory of Tom Riddle framing Hagrid for the attacks on Muggleborn students, including Moaning Myrtle.

I nudged Harry. "This is a memory. That's why no one can see or hear us. It's just like with Riddle's diary."

Harry's expression shifted from shock to realization. "No wonder that guy's hand went right through me!" he whispered.

The sound of turning gears coming from the cage caught everyone's attention. A man appeared, rising up from underneath the floor, into the cage. _Looks like the cage floor functions as an elevator._ His hands were chained together. I recognized him right away; it was Durmstrang's Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff.

Unlike Dumbledore, Karkaroff looked much younger; his hair and goatee were all black. He was not dressed in sleek furs, but in thin and ragged robes. He was shaking.

Mad-Eye Moody was also in the room, sitting right behind Dumbledore, except there was an enormous difference in his physical appearance. He did not have his magical eye, but two normal ones. Both were looking down upon Karkaroff, and both were narrowed in intense dislike.

"Igor Karkaroff," a curt vice to our left addressed. We looked around and saw Mr. Crouch sitting in the middle of one of the higher benches. "You have been brought from Azkaban at your own request to resent evidence to this council. Should your testimony prove consequential, the council may be prepared to order your immediate release," he declared. "Until such time, you remain, in the eyes of the Ministry, a convicted Death Eater. Do you accept these terms?"

"I do, sir," Karkaroff agreed, and although his voice was very scared, I could still hear the familiar unctuous note in it.

"What do you wish to present?" Mr. Crouch asked.

"I have names, sir," Karkaroff replied, breathless. "And these were important supporters, mark you. People I saw with my own eyes doing his bidding. I give this information as a sign that I fully and totally renounce him, and am filled with a remorse so deep I can barely-"

"These names are?" Mr. Crouch inquired coldly.

"What does he mean, names?" Harry whispered to me.

"If you're convicted Death Eater, and you reveal names of other supporters of Voldemort, the Ministry will shorten your sentence in Azkaban, or they may even release you, but only if the people named are legitimately on the dark side," I explained.

Karkaroff drew a deep breath. "There was Antonin Dolohov," he said. "I-I saw him torture countless Muggles and - and non-supporters of the Dark Lord."

"And helped him do it," Moody murmured.

"We have already apprehended Dolohov," Mr. Crouch said. "He was caught shortly after yourself."

"Indeed?" Karkaroff's eyes widened. "I - I am delighted to hear it!" But he didn't look it. Harry and I could tell that his news had come as a real blow to him. One of his names was worthless.

"Any others?" Mr. Crouch asked coldly.

"There was a Rosier," Karkaroff said hurriedly. "Evan Rosier."

"Rosier is dead," Crouch told him.

Karkaroff blinked. "Dead?"

"He was caught shortly after you were, too. He preferred to fight rather than come quietly and was killed in the struggle," Crouch informed him.

"Yeah, took a piece of me with him, though, did he?" Moody muttered. I looked around at him once more, and saw him indicating the large chunk out of his nose to Dumbledore.

"I didn't know," Karkaroff said, his voice lowered significantly. He couldn't believe it. Two names had proven to be worthless.

"If that is all the witness has to offer-" Crouch started to say.

Karkaroff frantically shook his head. "No! No! There was Rookwood, he was a spy!"

"Rookwood?" Mr. Crouch echoed, nodding to a witch sitting in front of him, who began scribbling on her piece of parchment. "Augustus Rookwood, of the Department of Mysteries?"

I saw a younger version of Rita Skeeter standing across the way. Her hair was not curly as it normally was, but in a wavy style, almost like Marilyn Monroe. I noticed she was using a pen to write things down, instead of using a Quick-Quotes Quill.

"Ya, ya, the same," Karkaroff confirmed, nodding eagerly. "He passed information to You-Know-Who from inside the Ministry itself!"

We could tell that, this time, Karkaroff had struck gold. The watching crowd was all murmuring together.

"Very well. Council will deliberate," Mr. Crouch declared. "In the meantime, you will be returned to Azkaban."

"No! Wait! Wait! Please, please! I have more" Karkaroff cried, looking quite desperate. I could see him sweating in the torchlight, his white skin contrasting strongly with the black of his hair and beard. "Snape!" he shouted, "Severus Snape!"

Dumbledore rose to his feet. "The council is very much aware you have given evidence on this matter," he said calmly. "Severus Snape was a Death Eater and, prior to Lord Voldemort's downfall, turned spy for us at great personal risk. Today, he's no more a Death Eater than I am."

"It's a lie! Severus Snape remains faithful to the Dark Lord!" Karkaroff shouted.

"Silence!" Crouch barked, banging his gavel repeatedly. "Unless the witness possesses any name of genuine consequence, this session is now concluded!"

Karkaroff shook his head profusely. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no. I heard about one more..."

Mr. Crouch raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"The name..." Karkaroff trailed off.

"Yes?" Mr. Crouch pressed.

"I know for a fact that this person took part in the capture and, by means of the Cruciatus Curse, torture of the Auror Frank Longbottom and his wife!" Karkaroff said, raising his voice again.

"The name! Give me the wretched name!" Mr. Crouch demanded. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a younger man - who strongly resembled Mr. Crouch - calmly rise to his feet and leave the bench he had been sitting on.

"Barry Crouch!-" Karkaroff yelled.

Rita gasped aloud as Mr. Crouch's expression morphed into one of utter astonishment.

"...Junior," Karkaroff finished.

Gasps and whispers broke out among the witches and wizards watching the trial. Crouch Jr. made a mad dash for the doors, but Moody pulled his wand out, zapping him with a nonverbal spell that knocked him to the ground. Several guards seized him.

"Get your hands off me, you pathetic little men!" he protested, trying to fight against the vice grip they had on him. They brought him over to Mr. Crouch, and he gave a sinister grin, licking his lip. "Hello, father," he greeted.

Mr. Crouch's face remained shocked. "You are no son of mine," he breathed.

Crouch Jr. licked his lip again and let out a yell as he fought against the guards, who began to drag him out of the room.

I felt the same almighty lurch from before as we were pulled out of the memory. The force was so great that it knocked us backwards onto the floor. We were back in Dumbledore's office now.

"Curiosity is not a sin, but you should exercise caution," Dumbledore spoke. Harry and I looked up to see that he was now standing in front of the basin.

"What is that, Professor?" Harry asked as we scrambled to our feet.

"It's a Pensieve. Useful if, like me, you find your mind a wee bit stretched. It allows me to see what small things I've already seen," Dumbledore explained. "You see, I've searched and searched for something, some small detail. Something I might have overlooked, something that would explain why these terrible things have happened. Every time I get close to an answer, it...slips away. It's maddening."

"Sir, Mr. Crouch's son...what happened to him?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore glanced at the Pensieve as he spoke. "He was sent to Azkaban. Destroyed Barry to do it, but he had no choice. The evidence was overwhelming."

"And Neville's parents? Are they...dead?"

I fought the urge to thump him on the back of the head. "Harry, the Cruciatus Curse is Unforgivable because it causes pain. Professor Moody referred to it as the 'torture curse'," I reminded him.

"Indeed. Neville's father, Frank, was an Auror just like Professor Moody. He and his wife were tortured for information on Voldemort's whereabouts after he lost his powers, as you heard," Dumbledore told us. His voice was full of a bitterness that we had never heard there before. "They are insane. They are both in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I believe Neville visits them, with his grandmother, during the holidays. They do not recognize him."

"Poor Neville..." Losing your parents at an early age is one thing, but to have them alive but not even recognizing you because they were driven stir-crazy...I didn't know who had it worse, us or Neville.

"The Longbottoms were very popular," Dumbledore went on. "The attacks on them came shortly after Voldemort's fall from power, just when everyone thought they were safe. Those attacks caused a wave of fury such as I have never known. The Ministry was under great pressure to catch those who had done it. Unfortunately, the Longbottoms' evidence was - given their current condition - none to reliable." His gaze was on us again. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just that...I had a dream about him," Harry confessed.

"We both did. Right before school started up again," I chimed in.

"In the dream, I was standing in a house, and Voldemort was there, only he wasn't quite human. And Wormtail was there too, and Mr. Crouch' son," Harry recounted our nightmare.

"Have there been other dreams like this?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes," Harry confirmed.

"Do your dreams differ from your brother's?" Dumbledore asked me.

I shook my head. "Somehow we're both having the same dream. We don't know why. I have a bad feeling about them, though. That's why we came to talk to you."

Dumbledore turned his back to us as he looked down at the Pensieve. "I think it's unwise for either of you to linger over these dreams. I think it's best that you simply..." He raised his wand to his temple and siphoned a silvery wisp of light from his head, letting it float into the Pensieve. "...cast them away."

* * *

I crossed my arms, flustered, as we walked down the hall, away from the Headmaster's office. "Well, that was disappointing..."

Harry sighed. "We'd better get back to the common room before Snape takes off points for us breaking curfew."

"Yeah. He'd probably take off extra because you're a champion," I commented dryly.

We started to head back up to Gryffindor Tower, only to be stopped by Snape, who was just coming out of his office. _Speak of the devil._ "Potters, what's your hurry?" he asked. "Congratulations. Your performance in the Black Lake was inspiring. Gillyweed, am I correct?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said.

I nodded as well.

"Ingenious. A rather rare herb, Gillyweed," Snape remarked. "Not something found in your everyday garden. Nor is this." He held a dark green vial about two and a half inches high in between his thumb and index finger. Despite the dark color of the bottle, I could see the fluid inside was clear, almost like water. Know what this is?"

"Bubble juice, sir?" Harry guessed, rather snarkily.

I covered my mouth to stifle a laugh.

Snape glared at me, before his focus was on both of us. "Veritaserum. Three drops of this and You-Know-Who himself would spill his darkest secrets. The use of it on a student is, regrettably, forbidden. However, should either one of you steal from my personal stores again, my hand might just slip..." He tilted the sealed bottle downward. "...over your morning pumpkin juice."

"We haven't stolen anything," I argued.

Snape leaned close, his hooked nose in our faces. "Don't. lie. to me. Gillyweed may be innocuous, but Boomslang skin? Lacewing flies? You and your friends are brewing Polyjuice Potion and believe me, I'm going to find out why!" He slammed the door in our faces.

* * *

"What do you suppose is on Karkaroff's arm?" Ron asked as we walked across the bridge. Harry and I had literally just filled him, Cedric, and Hermione in on what had happened last night. The memory of Crouch Jr.'s trial, Snape accusing us...the whole enchilada.

"I dunno," Harry replied.

"But if neither of you went near his stores, who else could've broken in?" Cedric wondered.

I sighed. "Beats me..."

"Boomslang skin and lacewing flies..." Hermione mused. "You're sure those are the two ingredients Snape mentioned?"

"Positive, why?" Harry questioned.

"Well, he thinks we're brewing Polyjuice Potion, doesn't he?" I told him.

"I don't care what Snape thinks. I've got bigger problems than detention," Harry muttered. "Something's coming closer." He touched his scar. "I can feel it."

Another pain went through my head. "I feel it, too," I added.


	58. Third Task: The a-maze-ing race

**Cassia's POV**

The third and final task was tonight. Even though Dumbledore told us not to worry, I can't help but feel like something bad might happen...which is why I asked if I could help the staff patrolling the outskirts of the maze. _Thank goodness they said yes._

At dusk, we walked onto the Quidditch field, which was now completely unrecognizable. A twenty-foot high hedge ran all the way around the edge of it. There was a gap right in front of us; the entrance to the vast maze. The passage beyond it looked dark and creepy.

In the stands, a small orchestra consisting of brass and drums was playing an upbeat tune, while the crowds cheered for the champions. Ron, Hermione, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were among those people. I saw the Beauxbatons girls were doing a dance routine that strongly resembled the Macarena, except instead of singing the words to the song, they were saying a cheer for Fleur in French.

Dumbledore, Moody, Professor McGonagall, Snape, and Professor Sprout also came out onto the pitch.

" _Sonorus_!" Dumbledore yelled, with his wand pointed at his neck.

The music and cheers died down and everyone in the stands took a seat.

"Earlier today, Professor Moody has hidden the Triwizard Cup deep within the maze. Only he knows it's exact position," Dumbledore announced. "Now, since Mr. Diggory-"

The Hufflepuffs abruptly stood, cheering loudly for Cedric, some of them holding banners.

"-and Mr. Potter-"

All the Gryffindors stood up and cheered in the same manner as Harry's name was announced.

"are currently tied for first place, they will be the first to enter the maze. Followed by Mr. Krum-"

Every one of the Durmstrang boys stood up, chanting "Krum! Krum! Krum! Krum!"

"-and Miss Delacour."

The Beauxbatons girls squealed as they clapped for Fleur.

"The first person to touch the cup will be the winner!" Dumbledore finished, earning another round of cheering from the audience. "We will have people stationed at every entrance to the maze, so if any contestant wishes to withdraw from the task, he or she need only send up red sparks with their wand."

"Champions, gather round."

Harry, Cedric, Viktor, and Fleur all gathered around Dumbledore, while I stood 1 or 2 feet away so I was within hearing range. I wanted to know what exactly Harry and Cedric were going to face during this final task.

"In the maze, you'll find no dragons or creatures of the deep. Instead, you'll face something even more challenging," Dumbledore warned the champions. "You see, people change in the maze. Oh, find the cup if you can, but be very wary-you could just lose yourselves along the way." His voice grew louder as he ordered everyone to their marks.

McGonagall, Snape, Moody, Professor Sprout, and I walked in different directions to assume our posts, where we would be patrolling the maze.

"Good luck," I heard Amos Diggory whisper to Cedric as he embraced him.

One by one, the teachers entered the outskirts of the maze. I was the last one to enter, and as I did, I could hear Dumbledore telling the champions to start at the sound of the cannon. And once again, Filch fired it too soon (surprise, surprise...)

I retrieved my wand from the waistline of my pants and muttered, _"Lumos_." Now I could see where I was going, or if anything were to, say, jump out at me and try to attack me. Steeling my nerves, I started to patrol the maze, keeping my eyes open so I wouldn't miss a thing.

 **Harry's POV**

Cedric and I hurried forward into the maze. The towering hedges cast black shadows across the path, and, whether because they were so tall and thick or because they had been enchanted, the sound of the surrounding crowd was silenced the moment we entered the maze. I felt almost as though I were underwater again. I pulled out my wand, muttered " _Lumos_ ," and heard Cedric do the same just behind me.

After about fifty yards, we reached a fork, and looked at each other.

"See you," I said. Cedric gave me a short wave before taking the right, while I took the left.

I hears the cannon fire for the third time. Krum had entered the maze. I sped up. My chosen path seemed completely deserted. I turned right, and hurried on, holding my wand out in front of me, trying to see as far ahead as possible. Still, there was nothing in sight.

The cannon fired in the distance for the fourth time. All of the champions were now inside the maze.

I kept looking behind me. The odd feeling that I was being watched was upon me.

The maze was growing darker with every passing minute as nightfall drew near, the reddish-pink tones of sunset fading as the sky's color started deepening to navy. I reached another fork.

"Point me," I whispered to my wand, holding it flat in my palm.

The wand spun around once and pointed toward my right, into solid hedge. That way was north, and I knew that I needed to go northwest for the center of the maze. The best I could do was take the left fork and go right again as soon as possible.

The path ahead was empty too, and when I reached a right turn and took it, I once again found my way unlocked. I didn't know why, but the lack of obstacles was unnerving me. Surely I should've run into something by now? It felt as though the maze were luring me into a false sense of security. Then I heard movement right behind me. I held out my wand, ready to attack, but its beam fell only upon Cedric, who had just hurried out of a path on the right-hand side.

Cedric looked severely shaken. The sleeve of his shirt was smoking. "Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts!" he hissed. "They're enormous- I only just got away!" He shook his head and dove out of sight, along another path.

Keen to put plenty of distance between myself and the skrewts, I hurried off again.

 **Cassia's POV**

A scream shattered the silence. A feminine scream, to be exact. It seemed to have come from ahead, so I went straight.

Several moments later, I found Fleur lying on the ground, with Viktor kneeling over her as several roots slowly emerged from the ground, wrapping themselves around her.

The sight took me back to first year, when Harry, Ron, and I had snuck up to the third floor to try and protect the Sorcerer's Stone.-our first obstacle had been Devil's Snare.

Viktor rose to his feet and walked away, not even acknowledging my presence. As he passed me, I caught a glimpse of his eyes. I noticed that they were glassy, sort of like Harry when he doesn't have his glasses on. Something had to have happened to him to cause this, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

Kneeling beside Fleur, I placed my hands on the roots constricting her, specifically the one around her torso. "Don't move," I instructed, to which she gave no response. I squeezed the root, burning it and the others. They released Fleur, allowing her to stand up. I felt pity for her. She seemed frightened to death.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yes...yes, I am fine," she whispered, though her eyes told me different. With a shaky hand, she raised her wand to the sky, sending up red sparks.

I wrapped an arm around her to support her. "Fleur, I'm going to take you out of the maze. Okay?"

She nodded and allowed me to lead her. I retraced the route I had taken to come to her aid, until we were out of the maze. A few of Fleur's friends, along with Gabrielle, rushed over to her, leading her to Madam Maxime.

Meanwhile, I resumed my post, continuing to patrol and keeping an eye out for the red sparks that signified another champion throwing in the towel.

A slight pain resonated through my head. I shrugged it off, thinking nothing of it, but I felt another one come on. This one was much stronger than before. Chills ran down my spine, making me feel like I was being watched. I turned around, pointing my wand ahead of me, only to find there was nothing there. And then something bad happened.

My arms were pinned painfully behind my back. On instinct, I fought against my attacker to the best of my ability, but they simply threw me over their shoulder and carried me off to who knows where. I pounded on their back and tried to kick their stomach, and even burned their arms, trying and failing to get them to let me go.

 **Cedric's POV**

Aside from the Blast-Ended Skrewts and two of the maze's hedges closing on me when I tried going down a certain path, I hadn't really run into any more danger. _I definitely dodged a bullet._ Hopefully I wasn't jinxing myself.

Every so often I hit some dead ends, but the increasing darkness made me feel sure I was getting near the heart of the maze. Then, as I strode down a long, straight path, I saw movement once again, and my beam of wandlight hit an extraordinary creature, one which I had only seen in picture form, in my _Monster Book of Monsters_.

It was a sphinx. It had the body of an over-large lion: great clawed paws and a long yellowish tail ending in a brown gift. Its head, however, was that of a woman. She turned her long, almond-shapes eyes upon me as I approached. I raised my wand, in case she tried to pounce on me. She was not crouching as if to spring, but pacing from side to side of the path, blocking my progress. Then she spoke, in a deep, hoarse voice. "You are very near your goal. The quickest way is past me... _if_ you can solve my riddle. Answer on your first guess - I let you pass. Answer wrong - I attack. Remain silent - I will let you walk away from me unscathed."

I remembered reading about the sphinx once, last year. I had been absentmindedly flipping through pages in the book, after I had stroked the spine, obviously - Zachary had learned _that_ lesson the hard way - and I happened to come across a page that described a creature known as the sphinx. From what I'd read on the page, the sphinx was a known legend among Greeks and Egyptians. Anyone who couldn't solve her riddles correctly were devoured. Although it wasn't enough to give me nightmares, that last part had intimidated me a little bit.

I was never good at logic or riddles, a fact which I had learned from experience, about two years ago, before Cassia and I started dating. I had gone to the entrance of the Ravenclaw common room to pick Cho up, since we were going on a date that night. The doorknocker sculpted in the likeness of an owl had asked me the riddle, and I couldn't solve it for the life of me. Cho had wound up opening the door for me. Even though she told me it wasn't my fault, that those riddles are really difficult even for her, I felt embarrassed.

I sighed. _Cassia, where are you when I need you?_ But then I stooped myself. As much as I wanted Cassia with me, getting help from her would be cheating. I had always made it a point to play fair, in Quidditch and with my schoolwork, and I wasn't keen on going against that principle.

"Tell me the riddle," I requested, trying to keep my nerves at bay.

The sphinx sat down upon her hind legs, in the very middle of the path, and recited:

"It grows and blossoms, it dies and wilts,

It happens in the beginning and happens in the end,

It can make you cry, it can make you sad,

It can make you smile, and can make you brave."

You've got to be kidding me. It's a "what-is-it" riddle. That was the one I had failed horribly on.

I turned these clues over in my mind. Whatever the answer was, each clue described it. It grows and blossoms, it dies and wilts. My first thought was that it had something to do with a flower, but then I knew it couldn't be the answer. It didn't correspond to the other three clues. The second clue had me stumped, so I decided to skip it and move on to the last two.

"It can make you cry, it can make you sad, it can make you smile, and can make you brave..." What makes a person both happy and sad at the same time? The only thing that came to mind was love. Wait a minute. I replayed the clues once more in my brain, quickly realizing that my answer had to be right.

"Love! The answer is love!" I exclaimed.

The sphinx smiled broadly. She got up, stretched her front legs, and then moved aside for me to pass.

"Thank you," I breathed.

Amazed at how I managed to figure that all out, I ran forward. I was so close to winning, I could practically taste it. Hufflepuff would finally receive the long-awaited glory and recognition it deserved. I would be able to make my father proud, even though I didn't care for his bragging about me at times.

A bloodcurdling scream resounded throughout the maze. It wasn't Fleur-she'd been the first one to bail out of the task. I got an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. The scream sounded exactly like-

My eyes widened in alarm. "Cassia!" I ran in the direction of the screams, my heart pounding harder with every passing second. _How could she be in danger?_ She was patrolling the outside of the maze, with four of the teachers. Surely one of them would have heard her and came to her aid, but I didn't hear any footsteps other than my own.

Cassia screamed again, much louder this time. _Hold on, love. I'm coming..._

When I finally came upon her, I felt as if my world had come crashing down. Cassia lay on the ground, in front of a masked Death Eater. She wasn't moving or breathing. Her gorgeous green eyes were now dull and unseeing. I had arrived too late.

"No..." I whispered to myself. Tears pooled at the corners of my eyes, threatening to fall, but I blinked them away.

It took me a couple of minutes to realize that Death Eaters couldn't have snuck in the maze without getting past the teachers. So that meant it wasn't real. It had to be a Boggart!

I aimed my wand at the dastardly scene. "Riddikulus!"

The scene before me vanished with a crack, another image quickly taking its place. Cassia was now standing before me, but she looked much different than usual. For one, her eyes were a much darker shade of green.

"Hello, Cedric," she greeted. Her voice was nowhere near as benevolent as it normally was. There was an icy quality to it, like she had a bad taste in her mouth and couldn't get rid of it. "I thought I might find you here. It's about time I told you something that I should have said a long time ago."

"Which is...?" I raised an eyebrow.

She smirked. "That I'm breaking up with you. I don't know why I ever said yes to dating you, but it was a mistake."

I aimed my wand at the Boggart Cassia and shouted, " _Riddikulus_!" Another crack sounded as the Boggart Cassia vanished, disappearing inside a locked chest that, I noticed, had appeared on the spot. It probably appears to lock the Boggart back up once it's repelled by someone.

I made my way around the chest, continuing on the path ahead of me, and then took a right. To my surprise, Viktor was approaching me, his wand pointed directly at me. He was yelling something in Bulgarian. And at that moment, Harry approached, standing directly between us.

"Get down!" I yelled to him as a curse was fired our way. "Get down!"

Harry dropped to his knees and crawled out of Viktor's line of fire right away. Simultaneously, Viktor tried to hit me with a second curse.

I pointed my own wand at him. " _Expelliarmus_!"

Viktor was blasted backwards, and he landed flat on his back, falling unconscious once he hit the ground.

I ran past Harry and kicked Viktor's wand away, for good measure. Before I could curse him as payback, Harry ran up to me and tried to restrain me.

 **Harry's POV**

I ran up to Cedric and tried to push his wand arm down so he couldn't curse Krum. "No, stop! He's bewitched, Cedric!" I said, trying to restrain him.

"Get off me!" Cedric snapped, pushing me away.

"He's bewitched!" I repeated.

Cedric ignored me and ran back the way Krum had entered from. I chased after him, and somehow we wound up wrestling together while running, trying to push each other out of the way. We rounded a corner, and there was the Triwizard Cup.

"Yes..." I muttered.

We raced towards it. Trouble was, roots sprang up from the ground, trying to trip us. Cedric narrowly avoided them twice, but the third time, the roots got him, and he face planted onto the ground.

I stopped running and looked back at him. Several more roots were wrapping themselves around his legs and upper body, pinning him to the ground. He tried to crawl away, but their hold on him was gradually growing stronger.

I looked ahead, at the cup, but then returned my focus to Cedric.

"Harry!" he shouted as more roots wrapped themselves around him. "Harry!" He struggled continually against the roots. "Harry!"

 _Leave him, leave him to his fate,_ a voice in my head told me. _Forget him and grab the cup. It's what you want, isn't it? To win?_ I then remembered what Dumbledore said before the task began, that people change in the maze, and we "could just lose ourselves along the way". The maze was feeding me terrible thoughts. I shook my head. _No. I never wanted eternal glory. He can have it for all I care, but I'm not going to ditch him like this._

"Harry!" Cedric pleaded once more.

I whipped my wand out and aimed it at the roots. " _Reducto_!"

The roots exploded on one side and immediately retracted, letting go of Cedric. I grabbed his hand, helping him to his feet. "T-Thanks," he stuttered.

"Don't mention it," I replied.

"You know, for...for a moment there, I thought you - you were gonna let it get me," he panted.

I nodded. "For a moment there, so did I."

"Some game, huh?" Cedric joked, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Some game," I echoed softly.

The wind started blowing like crazy, all of a sudden, and we saw the maze wall behind us starting to close.

"Let's go!" I ordered.

We sprinted to the cup - and thankfully, no more roots tried to trip us - but the minute we got there, we stopped. I didn't make a move to grab it. Cedric deserved it; I already had enough fame as one of the Children Who Lived, and I didn't want any more.

"Go on, take it!" Cedric said, making me look at him in surprise. "You saved me, take it!" he insisted. He looked as though this was costing him every ounce of resolution he had, but his face was set, his arms were folded, he seemed decided.

I looked from Cedric to the cup. For one shining moment, I saw myself holding the Triwizard Cup aloft, heard the roar of the crowd, saw Cho's face gleaming with admiration...and then the picture faced, and I found myself staring at Cedric's shadowy, stubborn face. "Both of us."

"What?"

"We'll take it at the same time. It's still a Hogwarts victory. We'll tie for it," I suggested.

Cedric nodded, liking the idea.

"One - two - three!" I counted slowly. We each grasped one of the cup's gleaming handles. Instantly, I felt a jerk somewhere behind my navel. My feet had left the ground.

I couldn't unclench the hand holding the Triwizard Cup; it was pulling me onward in a howl of wind and swirling color, with Cedric at my side.


	59. Voldemort's return

**Cassia's POV**

I was no longer on the Hogwarts grounds; my captor and I had obviously traveled miles - perhaps hundreds of miles - for even the mountains surrounding the castle were gone.

Now I was in a dark and overgrown graveyard. The black outline of a small church was visible beyond a large yew tree to the right. A hill rose above us to the left. I could just make out the outline of a fine old house on the hillside. I hadn't seen the person who brought me here again, and I never knew his identity. He had literally dropped me near a random tombstone and left, not even giving me so much as a second to glimpse his face.

A flash of light and a popping sound to my left alerted me, and I looked just in time to see Harry and Cedric appear, with the Triwizard Cup. Harry's feet slammed into the ground; his legs gave way, and he fell forward. His hand let go of the Triwizard Cup as he rolled onto his stomach. Cedric lay on his side, not too far away from Harry.

I rushed over and helped them up, one at a time. "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah - yeah, we're fine..." Harry waved me off.

"Where are we?" Cedric wondered.

I had no idea where exactly this graveyard was located, but it was familiar to me.

Cedric knelt down and examined the cup. "It's a Portkey," he said. "Guys, the cup is a Portkey."

"I've been here before," Harry muttered, barely audible. He had just said what I was thinking.

"So have I," I added. "It was in our dreams."

There was a cauldron not far from where I was standing. I looked to my left and saw a statue of a hooded figure with a sickle, standing near a massive gravestone that had old writing on it. I edged closer to see what the writing said, and my eyes widened when I saw all of the names written on it shared one surname; "Riddle". This was really, _really_ bad.

Without warning, my scar exploded in pain. It was agony such as I had never felt in all my life. I clutched my forehead with my free hand. My knees buckled; I was on the ground and I could see nothing at all. It felt as if my face were about to split open. Harry went down beside me, clutching his forehead as the same thing happened to him.

Cedric ran over, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Love, what's wrong?"

"Ceddy, you have to get back to the cup," I managed to say through the pain.

He looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"You heard her, get back to the cup!" Harry grunted in pain.

A fire was magically lit under the cauldron, quickly bringing the water inside it to an angry boil.

Looking up, I saw an all-too-familiar face appear. The man who had betrayed mine and Harry's parents. Wormtail, aka Peter Pettigrew. From the way he was walking and holding his arms, I could tell he was carrying something. I saw that it looked like a baby...or was it nothing but a bundle of robes?

Cedric stood up, pointing his wand at Wormtail. "Who are you? What do you want?" he demanded.

"Kill the spare," a high, cold voice hissed from inside the bundle.

Wormtail screeched the words to the night. " _Avada Kedavra_!"

Despite the horrible pain in my scar, I somehow managed to push Cedric out of the way, the green light of the Killing Curse missing him by inches. _If that's not a close call, then I don't know what is._

Angry at Wormtail for trying to kill the man I loved, I fired a spell at him in return. " _Expelliarmus_!" His wand flew into my left hand. "Hold this," I whispered to Harry as I thrust my wand into his hand.

"Cassia, what - what are you..." Harry sputtered.

I snapped Wormtail's wand over my knee, breaking it in two, and threw the pieces onto the ground.

Wormtail gazed in the direction I had thrown the pieces of his broken wand, and then down at the bundle he was holding. He started to kneel to the ground, but the same cold voice from before spoke again.

"Forget about your wand, you blithering idiot! Take mine and do what I have commanded you! Do it! Now!" it ordered.

"Y-Y-Yes, M-My Lord," Wormtail stammered. He hastily unwrapped the bundle and dropped it into the cauldron.

I caught a quick glimpse of what was in the bundle of robesbefore he threw it in, and I have to say, I wish I hadn't. The thing Wormtail had been carrying had the shape of a crouched human child, except that I had never seen anything less like a child. It was hairless and scaly-looking, a dark, raw, reddish black. Its arms and legs were thin and feeble, and its face - no child alive ever had a face like that - flat and snakelike, with gleaming red eyes. As the creature hit the water, there was a hiss, and it vanished below the surface; I heard its frail body hit the bottom with a thud.

While Wormtail went looking for the wand belonging to his "Lord", I took advantage of the opportunity and pulled Cedric behind one of the biggest gravestones I saw. It wasn't quite as big as the Riddles' gravestone, but it'd be enough to conceal Cedric from sight.

"W-What's going on? Who was that?" Cedric asked, trying to peer out at Wormtail.

I pulled him back down. "Shh! That's Wormtail."

"The guy who told Voldemort where your parents were hiding?" Cedric questioned.

"Sadly," I admitted, before looking back at Wormtail to see him still fumbling as he tried to find his master's wand. I put both my hands on Cedric's shoulders. "Cedric, you have to get out of here. Now. You can use a nonverbal Summoning Charm to get the cup. Go back to the castle and tell Dumbledore what happened. He'll be able to help. Go, now, before Wormtail gets his hands on the wand!"

"No, Cassia," he refused. "I'm not leaving you or Harry behind.

"Cedric, I can't let you get yourself killed. I almost lost you once already," I insisted.

My brother's grunts and the sound of stone moving alerted us. I poked my head out from behind the tombstone to see Wormtail had his master's wand and was forcing Harry into the hooded statue's hold. Something had to be done, and fast.

"Stay here," I whispered to Cedric. "If I'm not back in ten seconds, get to the cup and go back to Hogwarts for help." I rushed over to Harry and tried to free him from the statue holding him in place, but I couldn't. To make things even worse, Wormtail hit me with a stunning spell, sending me flying backwards into another gravestone across the way. I hit my head on the stone behind me, which only added to the already-worsening pain I was feeling. My vision became a little blurry and I felt myself drifting in and out of consciousness.

 **Cedric's POV**

Things weren't looking good for us. Harry was held against a statue, and I guessed Cassia had just gotten a concussion from when Wormtail knocked her backwards. She definitely had two of the warning signs; dizziness and almost falling unconscious every so often.

Wormtail was now speaking. His voice shook; he seemed frightened beyond his wits. He raised his wand, closed his eyes, and spoke to the night, "Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son." He levitated a bone sitting by the Riddles' grave and guided it to drop into the cauldron, which gave a hiss as the bone hit the water. The boiling water inside the cauldron hissed, sending sparks in all directions, turning a poisonous-looking blue.

And now Wormtail was whimpering. He pulled a long, thin, shining silver dagger from inside his Cloak. His voice broke into petrified sobs.

"Flesh of the servant, willingly...sacrificed, you will revive your master." He stretched his right hand out in front of him - the hand with the missing finger. He gripped the dagger very tightly in his left hand and swung it upward.

I realized what Wormtail was about to do a second before it happened - I looked away, clamping my hands over my ears, but I couldn't block out the scream that pierced the night. A sickening splash followed as Wormtail's hand dropped into the cauldron.

The potion had turned a burning red; the light of it shone across my brown eyes.

Wormtail was gasping and moaning with agony as he staggered up to Harry. "B-Blood of the enemies...forcibly taken...you will...resurrect your foe,"

Harry could do nothing to prevent it. The stone handle of the statue's sickle left him immbobilized.

I saw the shining silver dagger shaking in Wormtail's remaining hand. Its point penetrated the crook of Harry's right arm, making a deep cut, causing Harry to emit a horrid scream of pain. Blood seeped down the sleeve of his shirt. Wormtail, still panting with pain, fumbled in his pocket for a glass vial and held it to Harry's cut, so that a dribble of blood fell into it. Then he went to Cassia and made a similar cut, taking the same amount of blood.

He staggered back to the cauldron with their blood. "The Dark Lord...shall rise...again," he said as he poured the blood into the cauldron. The liquid within turned, instantly, a blinding white. Wormtail, his job done, dropped to his knees beside the cauldron, then slumped sideways and lay on the ground, cradling the bleeding stump of his arm, gasping and sobbing.

The cauldron was simmering, sending its diamond sparks in all directions, so blindingly bright that it turned all else to velvety blackness.

The deformed creature rose up out of the cauldron, taking the form of a thin man. Billowing clouds of black smoke engulfed him, turning into robes to cover his body. The man slowly floated to the ground, in front of the cauldron, and passed his hands over his face as features began to show. Before long, I was staring at the man who had murdered countless innocent people. Whiter than a skull, with wide, livid scarlet eyes and a nose that was flat as a snake's, with slits for nostrils...

Lord Voldemort had risen again.

Barefoot, he walked over to the cowardly man who had helped restore him to his body.

Wormtail's robes were shining with blood now; he had wrapped the stump of his arm in them.

"My wand, Wormtail," Voldemort requested.

Wormtail fumbled in his pocket for a few moments, before handing him a skeletal-looking wand.

"Hold out your arm," Voldemort said lazily.

"Oh, Master...thank you, Master..." Wormtail extended the bleeding stump.

"The other arm, Wormtail!" Voldemort hissed.

Wormtail retracted his bleeding stump and held out his left arm. Voldemort forced the sleeve of Wormtail's robes up past his elbow, and I saw something upon the skin there, something like a vivid red tattoo of a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth. I remembered the image from when it had appeared in the sky at the Quidditch World Cup; the Dark Mark. Seeing it again frightened me more than I cared to admit. Voldemort examined it carefully, ignoring Wormtail's uncontrollable weeping.

The air was suddenly full of the swishing of cloaks, as wizards Apparated into the graveyard, standing in a circle around the Dark Lord. All of them were hooded and masked.

"Welcome, my friends," Voldemort greeted them. "Thirteen years it's been, and here you stand before me as though it were only yesterday. I confess myself...disappointed. Not one of you tried to find me." He made his way around the ring of Death Eaters, ripping away their silver masks and forcing them to the ground.

"Crabbe!"

"MacNair!"

"Goyle!"

Only one was left standing.

"Not even you, Lucius." Voldemort pulled off the last Death Eater's mask.

Instead of collapsing, Lucius Malfoy dropped to his knees. "My Lord, had I detected any sign, or even a whisper of your whereabouts-" he pleaded.

"There were signs, my slippery friend, and more than whispers," Voldemort remarked.

"I assure you, I have never renounced the old ways," Lucius persisted. "The face I have been obliged to present each day since your absence, _that_ is my true mask."

"I returned," Wormtail spoke up.

Voldemort turned back to him. "Out of fear, not loyalty," he corrected. "Still, you you have proven yourself useful these past few months, Wormtail." He pointed his wand at Wormtail's bloody stump, and a silver hand formed where his three-fingered hand once was, attached seamlessly to his arm, as though he were wearing a dazzling glove.

Wormtail was awestruck. "Oh, Master...t-thank you..."

Voldemort reached a large gap in the circle, and he stood surveying it with his blank, red eyes, as though he could see people standing there. "And here we have six missing Death Eaters...three dead in my service. One, too cowardly to return...he will pay. One, who I believe has left me forever...he will be killed, of course...and one, who remains my most faithful servant, and who had already reentered my service."

Cassia's words popped into my head. _Go back to the cup. Tell Dumbledore what happened. He'll be able to help._ I crept my way from gravestone to gravestone, until I was right behind the one holding Harry. The Triwizard Cup sat a little ways away from me. Aiming my wand at it, I prepared to cast a nonverbal Summoning Charm, but was stopped by one of the Death Eaters grabbing my arm and dragging me into the middle of their circle.

"My Lord," Lucius Malfoy spoke. He'd been the one to grab me. "I found this blood traitor sneaking around, trying to escape, judging by the way he was holding his wand."

Voldemort's red eyes pierced down into my soul. "It seems that the spare is still alive," he hissed.

"M-Master, t-the girl was m-much faster," Wormtail stuttered in fear.

"Your punishment will come in due time, Wormtail. But for now..." Voldemort looked at me again. "Such a handsome boy." He aimed his wand at my heart. I struggled against Lucius, but he had a tight grip on me. Just before Voldemort could open his mouth and say the spell that would end my life, a fireball came out of nowhere and hit him in the arm from behind. The Dark Lord screeched in pain, clutching his arm, which was now sporting possibly a second or third-degree burn. Everyone turned around to see who had fired. My heart leapt for joy once I saw it was Cassia.

"Leave my boyfriend alone, SnakeFace," she snapped, keeping her wand raised.

 **Cassia's POV**

Voldemort grinned maliciously. "Ah, Cassia, I'd almost forgotten you were here," he said, "And Harry..." He glanced over at where Harry was held in place by the statue marking the Riddles' grave. "...standing on the bones of my father. I'd introduce you two, but word has it you're almost as famous as me these days."

"Leave then alone," I demanded, "and I might consider letting you all walk away in one piece. You have no idea who you're dealing with." I was still a little dizzy and my head was killing me, but I refused to let my guard down just for that.

"Oh, but I do," Voldemort contradicted. "The Children Who Lived. How lies have fed your legend. Shall I reveal what happened that night? Shall I divulge how I truly lost my powers?" He spoke to all of the Death Eaters gathered before him. "It was love. You see, when dear, sweet Lily Potter gave her life for her twin children, she provided the ultimate protection. I could not touch them. But that was old magic, something I should have foreseen. No matter. Times have changed." In a split second, he was right in front of Harry, with one arm outstretched. "I can touch you now." He pressed a fingertip into Harry's scar, causing Harry to scream in agony, and me to scream as well, because I could feel his pain.

"Astonishing what a few drops of yours and Cassia's blood will do..." Voldemort remarked, before casting a nonverbal spell to make the statue release Harry, who tumbled to the ground. "Pick up your wand, Harry!"

Harry scrambled to grab his wand.

"I said pick it up!" Voldemort snapped. "Get up! Get up!"

I rushed over to Harry and helped him to his feet once he got his wand. "Thanks..." he whispered.

Voldemort made eye contact with both of us. "You've both been taught how to duel, I presume."

At these words, I remembered, as though from a former life, the dueling club at Hogwarts I had attended just two years ago. Except, all Harry and I had learned there was the Disarming Spell, "Expelliarmus"...and I had barely mastered "Stupefy", and what use would it be to deprive Voldemort of his wand or stun him, even if we could, when we were surrounded by Death Eaters, outnumbered by at least thirty to three? Neither Harry nor myself had learned anything else that could possibly fit us for this. What made things worse was that Cedric's life was on the line.

"First, we bow to each other," Voldemort said, bending a little, but keeping his snakelike face upturned to Harry and I. "Come now, children, the niceties must be observed. Dumbledore wouldn't want you to forget your manners. Bow to death."

The Death Eaters were laughing again. Voldemort's lipless mouth was smiling.

Neither of us bowed. We would not let Voldemort play with us before killing us. We were not going to give him that satisfaction.

"I said bow!" Voldemort demanded, raising his wand-and Harry's spine curved as though a huge, invisible hand were bending him ruthlessly forward. Voldemort raised his wand at me, and I too was forced to bend painfully forward in the same manner, with the Death Eaters laughing harder than ever. With a sweep of his arm, we were both knocked to the ground as if someone had pulled a rug from under our feet. Voldemort's wand was aimed at Harry. "And now... _Crucio_!"

But I rolled in front of Harry and took the curse for him. The pain was so intense, so all-consuming, that I no longer knew where I was. White-hot knives were piercing every inch of my skin, my head was surely going to burst with pain, I was screaming more loudly than I'd ever screamed in my life.

"Cassia!" I heard Harry exclaim as he rushed to my aid.

" _Crucio_!"

Another wave of excruciating pain hit me.

"That's it, children. Your parents would be proud, especially your filthy Muggle mother," Voldemort sneered.

" _Expelliarmus_!" Harry yelled, aiming a Disarming Spell at Voldemort, only for it to be blocked with a wave of the hand.

Voldemort knelt to our level. "I'm going to kill you, Harry and Cassia Potter. I'm going to destroy you," he told us. "After tonight, no one will ever again question my powers. If they speak of tonight, they will only talk of how you begged for death, and I, being the merciful lord...obliged."

Harry wrapped an arm around me and helped me to my feet, pulling me back behind the Riddles' grave, a Killing Curse narrowly missing us.

"Don't you turn your back on me, children!" Voldemort demanded. "I want you to look at me when I kill you! I want to see the light leave your eyes!"

Harry and I looked, knowingly, at each other. If it's a duel Voldemort wants, he'll get one. One at a time, we stepped out from behind the gravestone.

"Have it your way," Harry said. We raised our wands.

As Harry and I shouted, " _Expelliarmus_!", Voldemort cried, " _Avada_ _Kedavra_!"

A jet of green light issued from Voldemort's wand just as two jets of red light blasted from mine and Harry's. They met in midair and suddenly, my wand was vibrating as though an electric charge were surging through it; my hand seized up around it; I couldn't have released it if I wanted to. A narrow beam of light connected the two wands, neither red nor green, but bright, deep gold. Following the beam with an astonished gaze on each of our faces, Harry and I saw that Voldemort's long white fingers too were gripping a wand that was shaking and vibrating.

The golden thread connecting mine, Harry's and Voldemort splintered; though the wands remained connected, a thousand more beams arched high above, crisscrossing all around us, until we were enclosed in a golden, dome-shaped web, a cage of light, beyond which the Death Eaters circled like jackals, their cries strangely muffled now.

"Do nothing! They are mine to finish!" Voldemort cried, stopping them from intervening. A shriek came from his wand, followed by a silvery wisp of light, which drifted to our side, taking the form of the Muggle man whom Harry and I had seen murdered in our nightmare the night before the World Cup. Two more shrieks, and two more silvery wisps appeared, coming to stand on either side of us as they took the form of a man and a woman. The woman looked almost exactly like me, while the man was almost a splitting image of Harry. It was our parents!

"Harry, Cassia, when the connection is broken, you must get back to the Portkey," Dad instructed us. "We can linger for a moment to give you some time, but only a moment. Do you understand?"

Both of us nodded without hesitation.

Dad's spirit glanced from Cedric to me, and he smiled. "You've found a good man, Cassia. He loves you so much, and I see how happy you are with him," he said, forcing some tears to fall from my eyes.

"Daddy..." I whispered.

"I want you to promise something, for both your mother and I," he requested.

A few more tears streamed down my cheeks. "Anything..."

"Never let him slip through your fingers. Men as kind and caring as Cedric are few and far between," he told me.

"I promise..." I choked out, nodding my head in affirmation, before looking over at my mother.

"Let go," Mum told Harry and I. "My darlings, you're ready..."

Harry and I fought to break the connection, to pull our wands back, but we were having quite a bit of difficulty.

"Let go! Let go!" Mum said.

After some struggling, we were finally able to break the connection. I saw the spirits of my parents and the Muggle Man swarm Voldemort and his accomplices. The distraction allowed Cedric to get away from Lucius Malfoy's grasp, and he all but ran back to us.

" _Accio_!" Harry yelled, pointing his wand at the Triwizard Cup. It flew into the air and soared toward us. Harry caught it by the handle. I heard Voldemort's scream of fury at the same moment that I felt the jerk behind my navel that meant the Portkey had worked. It was speeding us away in a whirl of wind and color...we were going back.


	60. Aftershocks (End of 4th Year)

**Cedric's POV**

I felt myself slam into the ground; my face was pressed into the grass; the smell of it filled my nostrils. The sound of up tempo marching music and crowds cheering filled my ears. I sat up, using my arms to support myself, and looked around. We were back on the Quidditch Pitch, right in front of the entrance to the maze.

I saw Harry to my right, kneeling on the grass. He was holding Cassia so that her head was in his lap. I ran over to check on her. She didn't look good; her arm was still bleeding profusely and her eyelids fluttered uncontrollably as she tried and failed to keep awake.

The sight proved to be quite a shock to Fleur, because I heard her scream from where she stood with her Beauxbatons schoolmates.

Cassia had hit that gravestone hard. She could have a concussion, or lose her memory...or worse, the impact might've broken her skull. I knew a head injury like that could be deadly if left untreated. Just knowing that fact made me start to panic. Cassia is _literally_ the reason I'm still alive, and if I were to lose her now, I'd never forgive myself. She was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout, my Head of House, came over and tried to pry me from Cassia's body. Neither one of them succeeded, even in trying to loosen my grip.

"Harry! Cedric!" Dumbledore exclaimed as he, too, rushed over and tried to pull us off Cassia.

"No!" Harry yelled, fighting back. "NO!"

Sprout and Dumbledore attempted to pull me off my girlfriend together, but again, failed.

The Minister for Magic ran over. "For God's sake, Dumbledore, what happened?" he asked, before his eyes fell on Cassia. "My God - Cassia!" he exclaimed. "Is she alright?"

The band had stopped playing by now. No one had bothered to notice. I don't think they even cared about the music at this point-I know Harry and I didn't.

"No," I answered, fighting back tears. "She's hurt, badly."

Harry, on the other hand, was bawling. "He's back! He's back! Voldemort's back! Cedric...he tried to kill him!" he sobbed. "And Cassia...she's hurt! She took two Cruciatus Curses for me!"

Dumbledore placed both his hands on Harry's shoulders, trying to console him. "It's alright, Harry. It's alright. She's home. You all are."

"Let me through! Let me through!" I heard my father demand as he pushed his way through the crowd. When he got to us, he dropped to his knees, pulling me into a tight hug. I could feel a tear drop onto my shirt. "Thank goodness you're safe..."

Mum came over and hugged me next, giving me a peck on the forehead. "Are you alright, Cedric?" she asked, looking me over for any serious injuries.

I nodded, sniffling. "Yes. I'm fine." I glanced down at Cassia, who could barely keep her eyes open. "But Cassia isn't...she needs medical attention."

"What happened?" she asked, glancing down at Cassia.

I trembled all over as I remembered what had happened after we had touched the Triwizard Cup. "The Cup was a Portkey...it took us to a graveyard. Someone - his name was Wormtail - he cast a Killing Curse at me. Cassia pushed me out of the way and told me to get back to the cup. I refused, and then Wormtail...took blood from her and Harry. He made some kind of potion with it, and...and..."

"And what?" Dad encouraged me to continue.

"H-He Who Must Not Be Named...we saw him come back. The potion Wormtail made had restored his body," I confessed.

Madam Pomfrey came over with a magically-levitated stretcher. She lowered it to the ground, and - with my mother's help - gently lifted Cassia onto it. When Madam Pomfrey raised her wand, the stretcher was lifted. She began to walk away from the Quidditch pitch, heading for the hospital wing. My parents followed, but I lingered for a moment, waving a hand at Harry to come with us.

Right when Harry had taken a step forward, Professor Moody had taken ahold of him and half-carried, half-walked him away.

"Come on, son," Dad coaxed, gently taking my arm and leading me with him. "She'll be alright. She's a fighter."

I knew that part about her being a fighter was true, but I still couldn't help but worry. Not just for her, but for Harry as well. I said a silent prayer for them both as I followed my parents and Madam Pomfrey to the hospital wing.

 **Harry's POV**

My heart sunk to my stomach as I watched Cassia being lifted onto a stretcher and taken to the hospital wing. I made a move to follow them, but someone started pulling me away from the Quidditch pitch.

"It's alright, son. I've got you," the voice of Professor Moody gruffed.

I tried to fight his grip, but I had no luck in getting away. "No...my sister...I have to go with her. I have to see if she's okay..."

"Don't worry about her," Moody said as he supported me the whole way back up to the castle. He took me up to his office. It looked no different from the first time I had been brought there, except last time, Cassia was with me. I heard the door shut behind us, and a _click_ signified that it was now locked.

Moody pulled a stool over by the fireplace and guided me to sit down. "Are you alright, Potter?" he asked me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I could only nod in reply.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, glancing at my right arm. "That?"

"Not so much now," I told him.

"Perhaps I better take a look at it," Moody suggested. He lifted my torn sleeve, exposing the deep cut on my forearm.

"The cup was a Portkey," I said as he examined the cut. "Someone had bewitched it."

Professor Moody looked back up at me in surprise. "What was it like? What was he like?"

I was confused. "Who?"

"The Dark Lord," he clarified, letting go of my cut. "What was it like to stand in his presence?" He rose to his feet, not taking his eyes off me.

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "It was like I'd fallen into one of my dreams. Into one of my nightmares."

Moody tried to take a swig from his hip flask, but, finding that it was empty, crossed over into another part of his office, vanishing from my sight. I heard glass vials clinking as he rumaged through them. "Were there others? In the graveyard, where there others?" he questioned.

 _How did he know about that?_ "I don't think I said anything about a graveyard, Professor..." I said.

Moody reappeared, all of a sudden, his magical eye fixed upon me. "Marvelous creatures, dragons, aren't they, dragons?" he said, mocking Hagrid, as he poured through a cabinet. "Do you think that miserable oaf would've sent you into the woods if I hadn't suggested it?" He looked back at me, before turning his attention to the cabinet. Finding nothing, he went over to a glass case. "Do you think Cedric Diggory-" he took a glass bottle off the top, only to find it was empty, and threw it into the case, "-would've told you to open the egg underwater if I hadn't told him first myself?" He advanced on me again, the glass case forgotten. "Do you think Neville Longbottom, the witless wonder, could've provided you with Gillyweed if I hadn't given him the book that led him straight to it? Huh?!" I saw him point to his temple.

The pieces all tied together in my head. "It was you from the beginning! You put my name in the Goblet of Fire! You bewitched Krum!"

Moody mocked my accusing tone, turning away from yet another storage chest he had looked through. "You won because I made it so, Potter." He came closer to me as he spoke. "You and Diggory ended up in that graveyard tonight because it was meant to be so! You had an easier time than you should have in that maze tonight, of course. I was patrolling around it, able to see through the outer hedges, able to curse many obstacles out of your way. I stunned Fleur Delacour as she passed. Your pathetic sister, strong as she was, was no match for me. I dumped her into the graveyard."

"Don't you _dare_ insult my sister like that!" I shouted, offended by Moody's remark against Cassia.

He ignored me and continued, "I put the Imperius Curse on Krum, so that he would finish Diggory and leave your path to the cup clear."

I stared at Moody. I just didn't see how this could be...Dumbledore's friend, the famous Auror...the one who had caught so many Death Eaters...It made no sense...no sense at all...

The foggy shapes in the Foe-Glass were sharpening, had become more distinct. I could see the outlines of three people over Moody's shoulder, moving closer and closer. But Moody wasn't watching them. His magical eye was upon me.

"And now the deed is done! The blood-" he grabbed my arm painfully, making me bite my lip to hold back a yell "-that runs in yours and your sister's veins runs within the Dark Lord!"

I jumped to my feet, running behind the wooden chest I had seen before, the one Moody had told me I would not believe what was in there if he had told me. But I was cornered like a mouse.

"Imagine how he will reward me when he learns that I have, once and for all, silenced the great Harry and Cassia Potter! I will be honored beyond all other Death Eaters. I will be his dearest, his closest supporter...closer than a son..."

Before he could make a move to kill me, however, there was a blinding flash of red light, and with a great splintering and crashing, the door of Moody's office was blasted apart. Moody was thrown backwards, into a chair on wheels. Standing in the doorway were Snape, Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall. Dumbledore was in front, his wand raised.

At that moment, I fully understood for the first time why people said Dumbledore was the only wizard Voldemort had ever feared. The look upon Dumbledore's face as he stared at Mad-Eye Moody was more terrible than I could have ever imagined. There was no benign smile upon Dumbledore's face, no twinkle in the eyes behind the spectacles. There was cold fury in every line of the ancient face; a sense of power radiated from Dumbledore as though he were giving off burning heat.

Dumbledore stepped into the office, advancing towards Moody, and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, keeping his wand pointed. "Severus!" he ordered.

Snape came forward and pulled out a bottle of Veritaserum, forcing every last drop down Moody's throat.

"Do you know who I am?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Albus Dumbledore," Moody answered.

"Are you Alastor Moody? Are you?!" Dumbledore inquired.

"No," the man sitting in the chair admitted.

"Is he in this room?" Dumbledore pressed. "Is he in this room?!" He looked at the giant chest in the center of the office, and then glanced at me. "Harry, get away from there!"

Professor McGonagall pulled me back as Snape cast an unlocking spell on the chest. It opened, revealing another chest, and another, and another, and another, until the final one was opened.

We gathered around the chest, leaving the fake Moody in his chair.

I was looking down into a kind of pit, an underground room, and lying on the floor some ten feet below, thin and starved in appearance, was the real Mad-Eye Moody. His wooden leg was gone, the socket that should have held the magical eye looked empty beneath its lid, and chunks of his grizzled hair were missing.

"Are you alright, Alastor?" Dumbledore called down.

"I'm sorry, Albus," the real Moody apologized.

"If that's Moody, then who's...?" I glanced back at the fake Moody, confused.

Snape picked up Moody's hip flask, opened it and sniffed the contents. "Polyjuice Potion."

"Now we know who's been stealing it from your store, Severus," Dumbledore remarked. He looked down at the real Moody and said, "We'll get you up in a minute."

Before my very eyes, the face of the man in the chair began to change. The scars were disappearing, the skin was becoming smooth; the mangled nose became whole and started to shrink. The long mane of grizzled hair was withdrawing into the scalp and turning a dark brown. Suddenly, with a loud clunk, the wooden leg fell away as a normal leg regrew in its place; next moment, the magical eyeball had popped out of the man's face as a real eye replaced it; it rolled away across the floor and continued to swivel in every direction.

I saw a man sitting in front of me, pale-skinned, slightly freckled, with a mop of fair hair. I knew who he was. Cassia and I had seen him in Dumbledore's Pensieve, watched him being dragged away from court by Ministry guards...but he was lined around the eyes now and looked much older.

Dumbledore recognized the man as well. "Barty Crouch Junior."

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," Barty Crouch Jr. hissed, gazing at me.

Dumbledore nudged me. "Your arm, Harry."

I lifted the torn sleeve of my shirt, revealing the deep cut on my arm.

Crouch Jr. rolled up his sleeve, revealing the Dark Mark on the inside of his forearm. "You know what this means, don't you?" he told us. "The Dark Lord has returned. He is returned to power and I will be honored by him beyond the dreams of wizards."

"Send a message to Azkaban," Dumbledore said, looking back at Snape, "I think they'll find they're missing a prisoner."

Snape left the office.

"I'll be welcomed back like a hero!" Crouch Jr. gloated.

"Perhaps. Personally, I've never had much time for heroes," Dumbledore said to him.

* * *

After hearing Crouch Jr.'s confession of how he escaped incarceration, Dumbledore brought me up to his office. Sirius had just arrived, and was waiting for us.

A kind of numbness and a sense of complete unreality were upon me, but I didn't care; I was even glad of it. I didn't want to have to think about anything that had happened since I had first touched the Triwizard Cup. I didn't want to have to examine the memories, fresh and sharp as photographs, which kept flashing across my mind. Mad-Eye Moody, inside the trunk. Wormtail, cradling his stump of an arm. Voldemort, rising from the steaming cauldron. Cassia, hitting her head on that gravestone...taking two Cruciatus Curses, that were meant for me...I could still hear her screaming in agony.

We had now reached the stone gargoyle. Dumbledore gave the password, it started to rotate, and he and I went up the moving spiral staircase to the oak door. Dumbledore pushed it open. Sirius was standing there. His face was white and gaunt as it had been when he had escaped Azkaban. In one swift moment, he had crossed the room and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.

"Harry, are you alright? Is Cassia alright? I knew it - I knew something like this - what happened?" His hands shook as he helped me into a chair in front of the desk. "What happened?" he asked more urgently.

Dumbledore began to tell Sirius everything Barry Crouch Jr. had said. I was only half listening. So tired every bone in my body was aching, I wanted nothing more than to sit here, undisturbed, for hours and hours, until I fell asleep and didn't have to think or feel anymore.

There was a soft rush of wings. Fawkes the phoenix had left his perch, flown across the office, and landed on my knee.

"'Lo, Fawkes," I said quietly. I stroked the Phoenix's beautiful scarlet-and-gold plumage. Fawkes blinked peacefully up at me. There was something comforting about his warm weight.

Dumbledore stopped talking. He sat down opposite me, behind his desk. He looked at me, but I avoided his eyes, knowing he was going to question me-he was going to make me relive everything.

"I need to know what happened after you touched the Portkey in the maze, Harry," he said.

"We can leave that until morning, can't we, Dumbledore?" Sirius said harshly. He had put a hand on my shoulder. I felt a rush of gratitude toward my godfather, but Dumbledore took no notice of his words. He leaned forward, toward me.

Very unwillingly, I raised my head and looked into those blue eyes.

"If I thought I could help you," Dumbledore said gently, "by putting you into an enchanted sleep and allowing you to postpone the moment when you would have to think about what has happened tonight, I would do it. But I know better. Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it. You and Cassia have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you. I ask you to demonstrate your courage one more time, not just for you, but for Cassia. I ask you to tell us what happened."

I didn't want to-I wanted to go down to the hospital wing and see Cassia, to hold her hand and stay with her even if Madam Pomfrey told me I couldn't.

The phoenix let out one soft, quavering note. It shivered in the air, and I felt as though a drop of hot liquid had slipped down my throat into my stomach, warming me, and strengthening me.

I took a deep breath and began to tell them. As I spoke, visions of everything that had passed that night seemed to rise before my eyes; I saw the sparkling surface of the potion that had revived Voldemort; I saw the Death Eaters Apparating to the graveyard; I saw my sister roll in front of me as Voldemort cast the Cruciatus Curse my way; I heard her scream at the top of her lungs, and I could feel the excruciating pain she had endured.

Once or twice, Sirius made a noise as though about to say something, his hand still tight on my shoulder, but Dumbledore raised his hand to stop him, and I was glad of this, because it was easier to keep going now I had started. It was even a relief; I felt almost as though something poisonous was being extracted from me. It was costing me every bit of determination I had to keep talking, yet I sensed that once I had finished, I would feel better.

I went on; I explained how Voldemort had emerged from the cauldron, and told them what I could remember of Voldemort's speech to the Death Eaters. Then I told how Voldemort had prepared to duel.

But when I reached the part where the golden beam of light had connected mine and Cassia's wands with Voldemort's wand, I found my throat obstructed. I tried to keep talking, but the memories of what had come out of Voldemort's wand were flooding into my mind. I could see the old man emerging...my parents...

I was glad when Sirius broke the silence.

"The wands connected?" he said, looking from me to Dumbledore. "Why?"

I looked up at Dumbledore again, on whose face there was an arrested look. "Priori Incantatem," he muttered. His eyes gazed into mine and it was almost as though an invisible beam of understanding shot between them.

"The Reverse Spell effect?" Sirius said sharply.

"Exactly," Dumbledore said. "Harry's wand, Cassia's wand, and Voldemort's wand share cores. Each of them contains a feather from the tail of the same phoenix. This phoenix, in fact." He pointed at the scarlet-and-gold bird, perching peacefully on my knee.

"The feathers from mine and my sister's wands came from Fawkes?" I echoed, amazed.

"Yes," Dumbledore said. "Mr. Ollivander wrote to tell me you both had bought the second and third wands, the moment you left his shop four years ago."

"So what happens when a wand meets its brother?" Sirius asked, "Or, in Cassia's case, sister?"

"They will not work properly against each other," Dumbledore said. "If, however, the owners of the wands force the wands to do battle...a very rare effect will take place. One of the wands will force the other to regurgitate spells it has performed - in reverse. The most recent first...and then those which preceded it..."

He looked interrogatively at me, and I nodded.

"Which means," Dumbledore said slowly, his eyes upon my face, "that some form of Harry and Cassia's parents must have reappeared."

I nodded again.

"James and Lily came back to life?" Sirius said sharply.

"No spell can reawaken the dead," Dumbledore said heavily. "All that would have happened is a kind of reverse echo. A shadow of the living Lily and James Potter would have emerged from the wand. Am I correct, Harry?"

"They spoke to us," I said. I was suddenly shaking again. "The...the ghosts, or whatever they were, spoke."

"An echo," Dumbledore said, "which retained the appearance and character of your mother and father. I am guessing other such forms appeared...less recent victims of Voldemort's wand..."

"An old man," I said, my throat still constricted. I wasn't able to say much more at this point.

"I will say it again," Dumbledore said as Fawkes rose into the air and resettled himself upon the perch beside the headmaster's desk. "You and Cassia have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of either of you tonight. You have shown bravery equal to those who died fighting Voldemort at the height of his powers. You have shouldered a grown wizard's burden and found yourself equal to it - and you have now given us all we have a right to expect."

I nodded in thanks.

"I understand that you are concerned for your sister's well-being, which is why I am arranging for you to stay in the hospital wing tonight. I do not want you returning to your dormitory," Dumbledore informed me. "Sirius, would you like to stay with them?"

Sirius nodded and stood up. He transformed into the great black dog that was his Animagus form, and walked with Dumbledore and I out of the office, accompanying us down a flight of stairs to the hospital wing.

It took us about five minutes for us to get to the hospital wing, but to me, it felt like a lifetime. Dumbledore pushed open the double doors, and led us inside.

My eyes landed on a bed just off to the left, at the farthest corner of the wing. Cassia was sitting up on the bed, with Cedric and Mr. Diggory standing on either side of her to support her, as Madam Pomfrey checked her out.

"Sis!" I exclaimed as I ran - no, sprinted - over to Cassia, throwing my arms around her. "You're okay..." I felt myself start to cry again, but these were happy tears.

"Mr. Potter, please be gentle with her! She has received a concussion!" Madam Pomfrey scolded me.

Cassia waved her off. "It's okay, Madam Pomfrey, Harry didn't hurt me." I felt her return the hug, one of her hands rubbing my back to comfort me.

"I thought I was gonna lose you," I whispered.

She hugged me tighter. "I'm not going anywhere."

Cedric wordlessly embraced both of us, so we were now in a big group hug.

Madam Pomfrey came back a couple of minutes later. "Alright, get off her before you suffocate her. You all need rest." She clapped her hands, and we all pulled out of the hug quickly.

Cedric was, unfortunately, kicked out of the hospital wing. I felt bad for him-I knew he wanted to stay with us. But it was Madam Pomfrey's orders for him to return to his dormitory. He _was_ allowed to visit us tomorrow morning.

With some difficulty due to my injuries in the maze, I clambered onto a bed to the right. My sister lay on her back, and reached out one of her hands. I reached one of mine out in return, lacing our fingers together. It was a good thing Cassia had been cleared to sleep, because that was how we slept that night, holding hands.

* * *

 **Cassia's POV**

"I told him you would not agree, Dumbledore!" someone yelled, waking me up and making my head pound. I opened my eyes and saw McGonagall, Dumbledore, and the Minister of Magic were in the hospital wing, not too far from me. Harry's hand was no longer holding mine. He was now sitting up in his bed. I glanced to my left and saw Cedric right beside me-I guessed he'd come in not too long ago. I felt him silently press a kiss to my head as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I told him you would never allow dementors to set foot inside the castle, but-" McGonagall tried to tell Dumbledore.

"My dear woman!" Fudge roared, "As Minister of Magic, it is my decision whether I wish to bring protection with me when interviewing a possibly dangerous-"

But McGonagall's voice drowned Fudge's. "The moment that - that thing entered the room", she screamed, pointing at Fudge, trembling all over, "it swooped down on Crouch and - and-"

I didn't need her to finish her sentence. I knew what had happened; the dementor had administered its fatal kiss to Barty Crouch Jr. It had sucked his soul out through his mouth. He was worse than dead. All thoughts of my aching head were forgotten.

"By all accounts, he is no loss!" Fudge blustered. "It seems he has been responsible for several deaths."

"But he cannot now give testimony, Cornelius," Dumbledore said. He was staring hard at Fudge, as though seeing him plainly for the first time. "He cannot give evidence about why he killed those people."

"Why he killed them? Well, that's no mystery, is it?" Fudge blustered. "He was a raving lunatic! From what Minerva and Severus have told me, he seems to have thought he was doing it all on You-Know-Who's instructions!"

"Lord Voldemort was giving him instructions, Cornelius," Dumbledore said. "Those people's deaths were mere by-products of a plan to restore Voldemort to full strength again. The plan succeeded. Voldemort has been restored to his body."

Fudge looked as though someone had just swung a heavy weight into his face. Dazed and blinking, he stared back at Dumbledore as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard. He began to sputter, still goggling at Dumbledore, "You-Know-Who...returned? Prepostorous! Come now, Dumbledore-"

"It's the truth!" Cedric insisted, causing all the attention to be on us now. "The Triwizard Cup was a Portkey. When Harry and I touched it, we were transported to some sort of graveyard, and we saw one of Voldemort's followers restore his body!"

"They witnessed Lord Voldemort's rebirth," Dumbledore said to Fudge. "I will explain it all to you if you will step into my office, but I am afraid I cannot permit you to question Cassia or Harry tonight."

Fudge had a curious smile on his face. He glanced at me, then at Harry and Cedric, and finally looked back at Dumbledore. "You are - er - prepared to take their word on this, Dumbledore?"

"Certainly, I believe Harry and Cassia," Dumbledore said.

"And her significant other?" Fudge asked, glancing at Cedric.

"Cedric is as truthful as they are," Dumbledore replied.

Fudge still had that strange smile on his face. Once again, he glanced at us before answering, "You are prepared to believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, on the words of a lunatic murderer and three teenagers?"

"You've been reading Rita Skeeter, Mr. Fudge," Harry said quietly.

Fudge reddened slightly, but a defiant and obstinate look came over his face. "And if I have?" he said, looking at Dumbledore. "If I have discovered that you've been keeping certain facts about these children very quiet? The boy's a Parselmouth, eh? And having funny turns all over the place?"

"I assume you are referring to the pains Harry and Cassia have been experiencing in the scars on their heads?" Dumbledore said coolly.

"You admit that they've been having these pains, then?" Fudge said quickly. "Headaches? Nightmares? Possibly - hallucinations?"

"Listen to me, Cornelius," Dumbledore said, taking a step toward Fudge, and once again, he seemed to radiate that undefinable sense of power that Harry told me he had felt after Dumbledore had confronted young Crouch. "Both Cassia and Harry are as sane as you or I. The scars upon their foreheads have not addled their brains. I believe it hurts them when Voldemort is close by, or feeling particularly murderous. Cassia's hurts, additionally, when her brother is in pain or an enemy is present."

Fudge had taken half a step back from Dumbledore, but he looked no less stubborn. "You'll forgive me, Dumbledore, but I've never heard of a curse scar acting as an alarm bell before..."

"What part of 'we saw Voldemort come back' do you not understand?!" I snapped, my hands clenching into fists. "Death Eaters were there! Lucius Malfoy, he's still working for Voldemort! He never came back to the light!"

"You are merely repeating the name of one who was acquitted of being Death Eaters thirteen years ago!" Fudge said angrily. "You could have found those names in old reports of the trials!"

"I'm telling you, they're still Death Eaters!" I all but shouted.

Fudge was fed up with this. "Their tales are getting taller, and you're still swallowing them - the boy can talk to snakes, Dumbledore, and the girl thinks she's an elemental - and you still think they're trustworthy?" _Whoa, whoa, whoa! Is he calling us crazy?!_

"You fool!" Professor McGonagall cried. "Mr. Crouch's death! Sabotaging the Triwizard Tournament! These things were not the random work of a lunatic!"

"I see no evidence to the contrary!" Fudge shouted, now matching her anger, his face purpling. "It seems to me that you are all determined to start a panic that will destabilize everything we have worked for these last thirteen years!"

I exchanged looks with Harry. Both of us were thinking the exact same thing-we couldn't believe what we were hearing. Fudge seemed like a kindly figure, a little blustering, a little pompous, but essentially good-natured. But now a short, angry wizard stood before us, refusing, point-blank, to accept the prospect of distribution in his comfortable and ordered world - to believe that Voldemort could have risen.

"Voldemort has returned," Dumbledore repeated. "If you accept that fact straightaway, Fudge, and take the necessary measures, we may still be able to save the situation. The first and most essential step is to remove Azkaban from the control of the dementors."

"Prepostorous!" Fudge shouted again. "Remove the dementors? I'd be kicked out of office for suggesting it! Half of us only feel safe in our beds at night because we know the dementors are standing guard at Azkaban!"

"The rest of us sleep less soundly in our beds, Cornelius, knowing that you have put Lord Voldemort's most dangerous supporters in the care of creatures who will join him the instant he asks them!" Dumbledore countered. "They will not remain loyal to you, Fudge! Voldemort can offer them much more scope for their powers and their pleasures than you can! With the dementors behind him, and his old supporters returned to him, you will be hard-pressed to stop him regaining the sort of power he had thirteen years ago!"

Fudge was opening and closing his mouth as though no words could express his outrage.

"The second step you must take - and at once," Dumbledore pressed on, "is to send envoys to the giants."

"Envoys to the giants?" Fudge shrieked, finding his tongue again. "What madness is this?"

"Extend them the hand of friendship, now, before it is too late," Dumbledore said, "or Voldemort will persuade them, as he did before, that he alone among wizards will give them their rights and their freedom!"

"You - you cannot be serious!" Fudge gasped, shaking his head and retreating further from Dumbledore. "If the magical community got wind that I had approached the giants - people hate them, Dumbledore - end of my career-"

"You are blinded," Dumbledore said, his voice rising now, the aura of power around him palpable, his eyes blazing once more, "by the love of the office you hold, Cornelius! You place too much importance, and you have always done, on the so-called purity of blood! You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be! Your dementor has just destroyed the last remaining member of a pure-blood family as old as any - and see what that man chose to make of his life! I tell you now-take the steps I have suggested, and you will be remembered, in office or out, as one of the bravest and greatest Ministers of Magic we have ever known. Fail to act - and history will remember you as the man who stepped aside and allowed Voldemort a second chance to destroy the world we have tried to rebuild!"

"Insane," Fudge whispered, still backing away. "Mad..."

"If your determination to shut your eyes will carry you as far as this, Cornelius," Dumbledore said, "we have reached a parting of the ways. You must act as you see fit. And I - I shall act as I see fit." Dumbledore's voice carried no hint of a threat; it sounded like a mere statement, but Fudge bristled as though Dumbledore were advancing upon him with a wand.

"Now, see here, Dumbledore," he said, waving a threatening finger. "I've given you free reign, always. I've had a lot of respect for you. I might not agreed with some of your decision, but I've kept quiet. There aren't many who'd have let you hire werewolves, or keep Hagrid, or decide what to teach your students without reference to the Ministry. But if you're going to work against me-"

"The only one against whom I intend to work," Dumbledore said, "is Lord Voldemort. If you are against him, then we remain, Cornelius, on the same side."

It seemed Fudge could think of no answer to this. He rocked backward and forward on his small feet for a moment and spun his bowler hat in his hands. Finally, he said, with a hint of plea in his voice, "He can't be back, Dumbledore, he just can't be..."

"I didn't want to believe it either, Minister," I whispered just loud enough so that he heard me. "But it happened. He has returned."

Fudge struggled to come up with a comeback but he could only splutter. "Y...You..." He shook his head, appalled. "Good day!" With that, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the hospital wing.

* * *

Harry and I were released from the hospital wing the next day, which was our second to last day of fourth year. Beauxbatons students walked back to their flying carriage, and the Durmstrang boys were all starting to head back to their boat. But before they did, Viktor - of course - kissed Hermione's hand, just like he had done at the Yule Ball.

"Do you think we'll ever just have a quiet year at Hogwarts?" Ron asked once Hermione had rejoined us as we walked across the bridge.

"No," the four of us said at the same time. Yep, Ceddy was walking with us again.

Ron gave a slight nod in agreement. "Yeah, didn't think so. Hey, what's life without a few dragons?"

"Everything's going to change now, isn't it?" I asked.

"Yes," Cedric replied. "But it won't be all bad."

I nodded, but then looked up at him with a perplexed expression. "Wait, what do you mean?" _Does he know something that I don't?_

Cedric chuckled. "Well, you'll just have to wait and see, love."

"Promise me you'll write this summer," Hermione requested, looking at Ron, Harry, and myself. " _All_ of you."

"Oh, I won't. You know I won't," Ron sarcastically commented.

"Harry and Cassia will," Hermione replied, glancing at us. "Won't you?"

"Yeah," Harry answered. "Every week."

"Absolutely," I confirmed his words.

We stopped about halfway across and stared out at the horizon, watching as the carriage from Beauxbatons flew away, and the Durmstrang's ship submerged underwater until only the crow's nest was visible, before it began the journey back to Bulgaria. This past year was really hard, but with Voldemort on the rise again, I know fifth year is going to be much, much worse. 

**End of Year 4**


	61. 5th Year: Cassia Potter

**Name:** My full name is Cassia Helena Potter

 **Nicknames:**  
Harry does call me "baby sis", and sometimes "little sis", even though he's only 15 seconds older than me. Other times, it's just "sis".

 **Age:**  
I just recently turned fifteen and so did Harry. Our birthday is July 31st, and on the zodiac calendar, that makes us each a leo. It also means that our birthstone is a ruby. Kind of apropos, because we are proud members of Gryffindor House, and Gryffindor colors are red and gold. That _and_ their symbol is the lion.

 **Personality:**  
As far as personality goes, I'm usually a sweet person. Okay, more like a sweet & spicy person, since I can be very feisty and sassy at times, and I have a sarcastic streak. Not to brag, but I also have a pretty good sense of humor. Maybe not as good as the Weasley Twins, but I'm up there. I'm a Gryffindor, through and through- courageous, never afraid of a challenge, willing to fight for what I believe is right, and undyingly loyal. I would take a Killing Curse for my loved ones, and that includes my amazing twin brother, Harry, whom I'm proud to call my "better half" even though he says _I'm_ the better half.

 **Family:**  
Our parents are - unfortunately - deceased. They were killed by Voldemort not too long after Harry and I were born. And it's all that filthy rat Peter Pettigrew's fault! If he hadn't handed us over to Voldemort, our parents would be alive! The closest thing Harry and I have to an actual family (besides each other) is our godfather, Sirius Black. Everyone thinks he's the reason our parents are dead because he allegedly revealed our location to Voldemort, but it was actually his friend Peter Pettigrew, who is a rat Animagus and had been posing as Percy Weasley's pet rat, Scabbers, who was then passed down to Ron. Harry lives with our rotten Muggle relatives, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, and they absolutely despise him. I was originally taken in by the Tonks family, but given the, uh..."circumstances"...I am going to live with Harry and our aunt and uncle. At least now we won't be kept apart. That's, like, the only good thing that came out of this arrangement, because Harry and I, we're like peanut butter and jelly!

 **Blood Status:**  
Because my mother was Muggle-born and my father was a Pureblood, that makes Harry and I Half-bloods. Although, to be honest, I could care less about blood status. That's not important to me, or to Harry.

 **House:**  
I am in Gryffindor House!

 **Boyfriend:**  
Two years ago, I started to fall in love with one of my close friends, Cedric Diggory. And little did I know that he was feeling the same way. Not too long after my third year, Cedric asked me out. We hit a rough patch in our relationship when he told me he was entering his name for the Triwizard Tournament, but we made up, like, a week later.

 **Friends:**  
Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are my BFFs. And so is Harry. Sounds kind of weird, but Harry and I have been through thick and thin these past few years and we'll always have each other's backs.

I get along really well with my Quidditch teammates, and most of my house.

My only enemies at school, I would say, are the Slytherins. Especially - ugh! - Malfoy! Since day 1 of our first year at Hogwarts, he has gone out of his way to make mine and Harry's lives miserable. But I usually give him a taste of his own medicine. Usually-once or twice, someone's beaten me to it *cough* Hermione and Harry *cough*.

 **Wand:**  
My wand is 11 inches long and carved out of cedar wood, with a hybrid core of phoenix tears and phoenix feathers. Ollivander had told me that my wand's hybrid core is "very rare, but powerful nonetheless."

 **Special Powers/Abilities:**  
My former DADA professor, Remus Lupin, taught Harry and I how to perform the Patronus Charm in our third year so we could better defend ourselves against Dementors. Harry's Patronus is a stag, and mine is a doe.  
In second year, during the whole Chamber of Secrets fiasco, I discovered that I have elemental magic- I have the ability to manipulate fire. And in addition to that, I am capable of Legilimency to a slight degree, in that I can sense Harry's pain or if he is in trouble, and I can also sense when enemies are nearby.

Hey, readers! It's Cassia Potter again, ready for fifth year...I hope. Things haven't been the same since the incident at the end of the Triwizard Tournament. It seems like the teachers are the only ones who believe our claim that Voldemort has returned. Everybody else is in denial, particularly Fudge. Dumbledore was right when he said Fudge was blinded by the love of his position within the Ministry-but the truth is, Fudge's career should be the least of his worries! The way he's acting now is unfair, unfair to himself _and_ the rest of the wizarding community. All I can say is, someone's gonna have to set that guy straight, pronto!


	62. Expelled?

**Cassia's POV**

Living at 4 Privet Drive during the summer holiday was awful, to say the least. The Dursleys kept Harry and I shut upstairs almost 24/7. Every morning, we would be woken up at 5 AM so we could pay the owl that delivered the Daily Prophet, but was there any point in continuing to take it? Harry merely glanced at the front page before throwing it aside these days. Usually, I would just rip the paper up, letting the shreds drop into the wastebasket I had placed right near my bed for that very purpose. When the idiots who ran the paper finally realized that Voldemort was back, it would be headline news, and that was the only kind Harry and I ever cared about now.

If we were lucky, there would also be owls carrying letters from our best friends Ron and Hermione, or even Cedric, though any expectations we'd had that their letters would bring us news had long since been dashed.

 _We can't say much about you-know-what, obviously...We've been told not to say anything important in case our letters go astray...We're quite busy but I can't give you details here...There's a fair amount going on, we'll tell you everything when we see you guys..._

But the question was, _when_ were they going to see us? Nobody seemed too bothered with a precise date. Hermione had scribbled "I expect we'll see you soon" inside our birthday card, but how soon was soon? As far as we could tell from the vague hints in their letters, Hermione, Ron, and Cedric were in the same place, presumably at the Burrow. The thought of them having fun while we were basically prisoners in our aunt and uncle's house...I fought to keep my elemental powers under control so I didn't accidentally burn Harry in a fit of rage.

Worst of all, Cedric blew me off. And not just once. He and I made plans to get together on alternate Fridays, and of course, on July 31st, but I would receive an owl from Cedric the day before our get-together, saying something suddenly came up and he had to cancel. I didn't think much of it the first time, but when it happened again and again, I started to get angry. _What the hell is going on with him?_

Both of us were quite angry at them, so we'd thrown away the Every Flavor Beans and the four boxes of Honeydukes chocolate they had sent us for our birthday...though we regretted that later, after the wilted salad Aunt Petunia had provided for dinner that night.

And what were they busy with? Why weren't we, Harry and Cassia, busy? Hadn't we proved ourselves capable of handling much more than them? Had they forgotten what we had done? Hadn't it been us who entered that graveyard and nearly been killed, and saved Cedric's life?

Sirius, at least, seemed to understand how we were feeling. Admittedly, his letters were just as devoid of proper news as Ron, Hermione, and Ceddy's, but at least they contained words of caution and consolation instead of tantalizing hints; _I know this must be frustrating for you...Believe me, Cassia, I'm going to have a talk with Cedric...He should never have stood you up like that without a better reason than 'Something came up'...Keep your noses clean and everything will be ok...Be careful and don't do anything rash..._

As a last resort, we tried to listen to the Muggle news in secret, knowing that our aunt and uncle would blow a fuse if we asked to just sit with them and watch it. Sadly, we wound up getting caught every time we tried. Even last night, when we'd been hiding in Aunt Petunia's flower bed outside. Uncle Vernon had thought we were performing underage magic, because he'd heard the cracking sound that only occurred when someone was Apparating or Disapparating, and - of course - he refused to believe we were innocent. Besides, there was never anything worth hearing.

Harry and I took many walks together, going from the middle of the afternoon all the way into the early evening. Sometimes we would scavenge through rubbish bins to look for newspapers. Our aunt and uncle didn't really care, as long as we were out of the house and they didn't hear the neighbors gossiping about any "funny business". And Dudley...well, he was gone long before we went out.

The Dursleys were astonishingly stupid with Dudley. They had swallowed all of his dim-witted lies about having tea with a different member of his gang every night of the summer holidays. My brother and I knew perfectly well that Dudley had not been to tea anywhere; he and his gang spent every evening vandalizing the play park, smoking on street corners and throwing stones at passing cars and children. I'd seen them at it during my walks with Harry around Little Whinging.

I regretted going for a walk today, only because it was the hottest day of the year-a record 110 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the weatherman when he'd announced the five-day forecast for this week. _Hopefully I don't come back to Privet Drive red as a tomato._

We arrived at a park that was almost as empty as the surrounding streets. The only other people there was a little boy and his mother. Harry and I headed for the swings, and sat on the only two that Dudley and his friends had not yet managed to break. I coiled one arm around the chain and stared moodily at the ground, grasping Harry's fingers with my free hand. Tomorrow we would have to think of some fresh way of listening to the news. In the meantime, we had nothing to look forward to except another restless, disturbed night, because in addition to the nightmares about seeing Voldemort return to power, we had unsettling dreams bout long dark corridors, all finishing in dead ends and locked doors, which I guessed had something to do with the trapped feeling we had when we were awake. Often the old scar on my forehead prickled uncomfortably, as did Harry's, but I doubted that Ron or Hermione or Sirius would find that very interesting anymore. In the past, our scars hurting had been a warning that Voldemort was getting stronger again, but now that he was back, they would probably remind me that its regular irritation was only to be expected...nothing to worry about...old news...

The injustice of it all welled up inside me so that I wanted to yell with fury. If it hadn't been for us, nobody would even have known Voldemort was back! And this is the thanks we get? Stuck in Little Whinging, completely cut off from the magical world, reduced to hiding in our aunt's dying flower bed just so we could listen to the telly in hopes of hearing about anything mysterious that could be traced back to Snakeface and his Death Eaters?! Why had Ron and Hermione gotten together without inviting us along, too? And why on Earth was Cedric blowing me off? _Is he cheating on me?_

"All this waiting is getting on my last nerve," I said.

"I know," Harry concurred, giving my hand a squeeze. "I don't get why our friends are keeping secrets from us, or why Cedric keeps cancelling dates with you."

I sighed. "I don't want to think about the possibility that he might be cheating on me."

Harry squeezed my hand again. "I'll hex him into next year if he is." His reassurance made me crack a smile.

"Thanks, Harry," I said, giving his hand a squeeze back.

The sound of voices interrupted us before we could talk further, and we looked up to see our cousin, Dudley Dursley, and his goons, standing at least three feet in front of us.

Dudley had always been a chubby kid, but a year's hard dieting and the discovery of a new talent had wrought quite a change in his physique. As Uncle Vernon delightedly told anyone who would listen, Dudley had recently become the Junior Heavyweight Inter-school Boxing Champion of the Southeast. "The noble sport,", as Uncle Vernon called it, had made Dudley even more formidable than he had seemed for Harry in their primary school days, when Harry told me he had served as Dudley's first punchball. Neither of us were remotely afraid of our cousin, but I doubted that Dudley learning to punch harder and more accurately was cause for celebration. Neighborhood children all around were terrified of him, even more so than they were of the Potter twins.

"Hey, Big D," Harry greeted, making no attempt to hide the sarcasm in his voice. "Beat up another 10-year-old?"

"This one deserved it," Dudley retorted.

"Oh, yeah?" Harry questioned.

"He cheeked me."

I rolled my eyes. "I doubt that. Every kid on the block is terrified of you."

"Did he say you look like a pig that's been taught how to walk on its hind legs? 'Cause that's not cheek, Dud, that's true," Harry remarked, making me look at him in mock confusion.

"I thought you said he looked like a pig in a wig."

A muscle was twitching in Dudley's jaw. It gave me enormous satisfaction to know how much Harry and I were pissing him off; it was as though we were siphoning off our own frustration into our cousin, the only available outlet we had.

Ignoring the angered look on Dudley's face, I continued, "Picking on kids younger and smaller than you? That's low, even for you, Dinky Duddydums." A few of his goons snickered at the nickname Aunt Petunia had given him.

Harry snickered, high-fiving me. "Nice one," he whispered.

"Well, you're one to talk, mumbling in your sleep every night," Dudley retaliated.

"What do you mean?" I asked, but there was a cold, plunging sensation in my stomach. Harry and I had revisited the graveyard at night, in our dreams.

Dudley gave a harsh bark of laughter, then adopted a high-pitched whispering voice. "Don't kill Cedric! Leave him alone!" His mockery sparked up a round of laughter from the rest of his gang. "Who's Cedric, your boyfriend?" he asked, smirking at me.

"None of your business," I said automatically, though I knew Dudley wasn't lying. How else would he know about Ceddy?

Harry glared at our cousin. "Shut up."

Dudley just kept going. "He's going to kill me, mum!" he wailed, pretending to be scared. "Where is your mum? Where is your mum, Potters? She dead?" At this, his goons laughed even more.

"Is she dead?" Dudley repeated. I could feel my palms start to heat up as I felt myself get angrier and angrier. He had crossed the line. No one, and I mean _no_ _one_ makes fun of the fact that Harry and I don't have parents, and gets away with it. The gang laughed even harder. "Is she dead?"

Harry and I marched straight up to Dudley, our wands pointed at his heart, though we didn't do anything. Pulling out our wands wasn't intended as anything more than a threatening gesture.

The wind picked up, but it was much more intense than the cool breeze that passed through Little Whinging from time to time. I knew this couldn't have been our doing. Something had happened to the afternoon. The once-clear, blue sky was now obstructed by dark storm clouds. We heard Dudley's crew telling him that they had to get out of here, but Dudley didn't move a muscle, so they gave up and booked it out of the park.

"What are you doing? Dudley asked, looking at us in shock and fear.

"We're not doing anything!" Harry exclaimed at the same time I said "This isn't us!"

Even though the park was now almost completely deserted, I got the feeling we were being watched. "Guys, we have to get out of here. It's not safe."

Dudley followed Harry and I without any hesitation as we bolted away from the park. The wind gradually died down, but the rain started pouring, forcing us to take shelter in a nearby tunnel. Barely ten seconds had passed before I felt a slight pain in my head, right where my scar was. Whoever - or whatever - had been following us was not a friend. I couldn't tell whether it was a Death Eater, a dark creature, or worst of all, Voldemort himself. That was the one downside of my psychic abilities; it was impossible for me to identify the type of threat present, if I sensed one.

The lights lining the tunnel flickered a few times before suddenly turning off, and the air around us became freezing. I was shivering all over; goosebumps had erupted up my arms and the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up.

Even with both of us keeping a watchful eye, nothing could have prepared me or Harry for what happened next. A Dementor popped up out of nowhere and grabbed Harry by the throat, holding him a few inches off the ground.

"Dudley...Cassia...run!" Harry managed in between gasps of breath.

Our cousin ran toward the other end of the tunnel, only to slip on a wet patch of ground and fall on his back. Two more Dementors came into sight, one of them looming over Dudley while the other flew right at me. Using my Elemental powers, I quickly conjured a ball of fire and held it in my palm. The Dementor facing me was intimidated by the fire, though it was slowly advancing on me. I glanced at Harry and Dudley to see the other two Dementors were slurping up as many happy memories as they could. I fought to keep the fire in my open hand from dying out, but it was no use. One Dementor was bad enough, but three? We wouldn't survive. Not a chance.

" _Expecto Patronum_!" Harry's voice rang out. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an enormous silver stag erupting from the tip of Harry's wand. It took the first Dementor by surprise; throwing it backwards, weightless as darkness, and as the stag bolted forward, the Dementor swooped away, bat-like and defeated.

I felt the fire in my hand grow bigger again, and I threw it at the Dementor in front of me, making it hiss. Harry took advantage of the momentary distraction and sent the stag galloping towards it. The latter was instantly overpowered, and it fled the tunnel.

"There's one more over there!" I called out to Harry, pointing to Dudley at the far end of the tunnel. Harry nodded and sent the stag in that direction. The Dementor's eyeless face was barely an inch from Dudley's when the silver antlers caught it; the thing was thrown up into the air and, like its fellows, it soared away and was absorbed into the darkness; the stag cantered to the end of the tunnel and dissolved into silver mist.

The lights above us burst back into life. A warm breeze swept through. I heard trees rustle in the distance and the mundane rumble of cars filled the air.

I couldn't believe what had just happened. Dementors here, in Little Whinging?!

Dudley lay curled up on the ground, whimpering and shaking. Harry and I rushed over to him and bent down to check and see if he was in a fit state to stand up, but then we heard someone else coming. This time, however, I didn't feel the headache that had occurred several minutes earlier.

Mrs. Figg, the Dursleys' batty old neighbor, came into view. Her grizzled grey hair was escaping from its hairnet, the handle of a red wagon was grasped firmly with one of her hands, and her feet were halfway out of her tartan carpet slippers.

Harry looked up at her. "M-Mrs. Figg," he stammered, making a move to stow his wand hurriedly out of sight.

"Don't put away your wand, Harry. They might come back," Mrs. Figg warned him.

* * *

Mrs. Figg was gracious enough to walk us back to Privet Drive. An ashen-faced Dudley held Harry in an armlock to support himself, while I had both hands on his upper arm so I could keep him from tipping over and squashing my brother. It seemed Dudley had lost all desire for independent movement after the Dementor ambush.

"I don't understand. H-How did you-" Harry started to ask, before Mrs. Figg cut him off.

"Dumbledore asked me to keep an eye on you," she informed us.

" _Dumbledore_ asked you?" Harry echoed.

I stared at her in disbelief. "You know Dumbledore?"

She nodded. "And after You-Know-Who nearly killed you and Amos Diggory's boy last year, he told me to keep a closer watch," Mrs. Figg replied, stopping us as we came to the driveway of 4 Privet Drive. "Now, get inside and stay there. I expect someone will be in touch with you soon enough. Until then, whatever happens, don't leave the house," she warned us, before setting off at a trot, carpet slippers flopping, wagon wheels creaking, across the street to her own house.

"I don't get it...how on Earth does she know Dumbledore?" I asked Harry, looping one of Dudley's arms over my shoulder to support his weight. Harry couldn't answer, though I expected that. Even I didn't know.

I heard the whir of a battery-powered miniature fan, and the weatherman predicting the forecast for the week as we entered the house and helped Dudley into the parlor.

"Diddykins..is that you?" Aunt Petunia asked dreamily once she heard us approaching. Her skin became pallid once she caught a glimpse of how sick Dudley looked. "Duddy...Vernon, come quick."

Uncle Vernon looked over at her from his place at the refrigerator, where he had previously been eating a tub of ice cream by the spoonful. Seeing Dudley's condition, he immediately helped him into an armchair and gave him the tub of ice cream. Dudley held it in his arms like a lifeline.

Aunt Petunia pressed a hand to his clammy forehead. "We're going to have to take him to the hospital," she whispered.

"Who did this to you, boy?" Uncle Vernon asked. His answer was Dudley pointing at the two of us, across the room. "Happy, are we, now?" he asked us, growing furious. "You finally done it! You've finally driven him loopy!"

"Vernon! Don't say that!" Aunt Petunia hissed.

"J-J-Just look at him, Petunia! Our boy has gone yampy!" Uncle Vernon spluttered, before turning on us again. "I've reached my limit, you hear? This is the last I'm gonna take of you and you nonsense!" And at that precise moment, a screeching owl swooped in through the kitchen window, dropping a letter it had carried in its beak. I cringed when the bird dropped to the floor with a thud, but mentally sighed in relief once I saw it was unharmed. It clambered up onto one of the sofa cushions and then flew away.

The letter rose upward, floating in midair. A pair of eye slits appeared on the envelope, and the wax seal on the back formed into a pair of lips. " _Dear Mr. Potter: The Ministry has received intelligence that, at 6:23 this evening, you performed the Patronus Charm in the presence of a Muggle. As a clear violation of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, you are hereby expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hoping you are well, Mafalda Hopkirk_ ," the envelope said, before it fell to the ground.

No...no, it couldn't be true! Harry used magic in self-defense, to protect us! He didn't mean to break the rules, but he had no choice!

Uncle Vernon had a huge grin on his face. "Justice..."

* * *

Aunt Petunia locked us in Harry's room while she and Uncle Vernon took Dudley to the hospital. Well, it was technically Dudley's "second" bedroom; his room couldn't hold the countless amount of presents he'd received for Christmas and birthdays, so they had to move most of it into one of the two guest rooms. During my stay here, Harry and I had to share the room, not that I minded. At least we were together.

Harry pounded on the door, making Hedwig squeak in surprise, and a framed photo on Harry's nightstand toppled to the ground. Luckily, I managed to catch it before it could shatter.

"Sorry, Hedwig," Harry apologized, taking a seat next to me at the end of the bed.

My eyes brimmed with tears as I looked at the photograph, which depicted Mum and Dad dancing and smiling together. Closing my eyes to prevent the tears from falling, I gingerly placed the photo back on the nightstand. I wanted more than anything for us to be a family, but at the same time I didn't. I knew it was just wishful thinking.

Ivy jumped up onto the bed and nestled herself against my leg as I looked through my photo album. Hagrid had given one to Harry and I, at the end of our first year at Hogwarts. Photos would magically appear in the album every year. The majority of them were of all four of us; Harry, Ron, Hermione, and myself. Of course, there were also several of me and Cedric. I have two favorites. One is of Cedric and I leading the first dance at the Yule Ball, with the other champions. The second is of Harry and I, after our first ever Quidditch match. We're still in our uniforms, we each have an arm around each other, and Harry's holding the Golden Snitch in his free hand while I'm holding my broom.

I stopped flipping through the album when I heard Harry's rapid breathing. He'd dozed off about twenty minutes ago. I looked over at him to see he was now tossing and turning in bed. Sweat dripped from his forehead. He was having another nightmare.

"Harry...Harry, wake up," I whispered, shaking his shoulder. It took me several tries, but his eyes opened and he bolted upright in bed. "Shh...it's okay, Harry. It was just a dream," I said as I hugged him, rubbing his back in the process.

"That was the worst one..." Harry murmured, "I dreamed we were back in the graveyard again, but - but Voldemort, he - he killed Cedric, and - and -"

"And what?" I asked, continuing to rub his back.

Harry took a shaky breath. "Then...he tortured and killed you, right in front of me. I wanted to save you, but I couldn't. I was still trapped against that tombstone."

"Don't worry, Harry. It was just a nightmare - it's not real," I reassured him. "Besides, you know me. I never go down without a fight."

He chuckled. "You are a tough girl." With a slight giggle, I nodded in agreement.

Our nice moment was interrupted when we heard someone unlocking the door. I glanced across the room and saw that the key, which was still sitting inside the lock, had begun to turn clockwise. On instinct, Harry and I made a grab for our wands and pointed them at the door. I wasn't sure who was trying to get in, but if they were an enemy, we had to be ready to strike them first.

The key turned one last time, before being pulled out of the lock, falling onto the carpeted floor. Then the door swung open.

"How clean, these Muggles," I heard Dora whisper.

"Tonks, for God's sake..." a deeper, more masculine voice grumbled. Using a nonverbal "Lumos", Dora lit her wand and pointed it into the room. Standing next to her was a familiar face.

"Mad-Eye Moody..." This was my first time meeting the _real_ Moody, in person.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"Rescuing _you_ , of course," Moody replied. He waved at us to follow him, so we did.

"I can see how close you two have grown," Dora commented as we headed downstairs. "Cass tells me so many wonderful things about you. I'm Nymphadora, but call me Dora or Tonks."

"Oh, nice to meet you," Harry said, shaking hands with her.

I crossed over and opened the window, and then I unlocked Ethel's cage. "If it's okay with you guys, I think I'm gonna let Ethel fly ahead of us. Hopefully she knows where we're going...because I know _we_ don't." Ethel nuzzled my neck, as if thanking me for not keeping her in her cage while we were traveling.

"Neither do I," Harry said, "but if you're letting Ethel fly ahead, I think she'd appreciate some company." He unlocked Hedwig's cage, and Hedwig nibbled his finger in an affectionate manner before flying out the window. Ethel took off right after her.

I smiled at the sight. "Well, Ethel and Hedwig are best friends."

"Just like you and me, sis." Harry came over and placed an arm around me.

"I hate to be rude and interrupt you, but we'd better get going. Mad-Eye gets grumpy when he's impatient," Dora spoke up. She levitated our trunks - and Ivy's pet-carrier - and led us down the stairs.

"Where are we going? The letter said I've been expelled from Hogwarts," Harry objected as we left the house.

"Well, you haven't been. Not yet," Moody replied.

"Not yet?" I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by not yet?"

Moody nodded toward a bald, black wizard. "Kingsley, fill them in."

"Dumbledore has persuaded the Ministry to suspend your brother's expulsion, pending a formal hearing," Kingsley explained as he took my trunk and my cat-carrier. He had a single gold earring in one ear, and he was dressed in blue robes, with a matching fez atop his head.

"Hearing?" Harry echoed.

"Don't worry, guys. We'll explain everything when we get back to Headquarters," Dora assured us as she.

"Shh!" Moody shushed her, "Not here, Nymphadora!"

That got her mad. "Don't - call me - Nymphadora!" Her hair turned bright red, earning a confused look from Harry.

"She's a Metamorphagus. She can change her appearance at will," I whispered to him. He nodded in understanding.

Moody tapped his walking stick on the ground, and our brooms sped into our waiting hands. Using a harness, Dora and Kingsley attached mine and Harry's things to their brooms.

"Stay in formation, everyone," Moody ordered, "And don't break ranks if one of us is killed." We all mounted our brooms and sped away, into the night.

* * *

We landed on a street called Grimmauld Place, and were led to a pair of black apartment flats. I could see the numbers eleven and thirteen on them. Moody banged his cane on the ground three times, and the houses moved apart to reveal number twelve. A gate sprung up in front of us.

"In you go," Moody urged us.

With some hesitation, we entered the flat. Moody led our group of rescuers past us, heading into the room straight ahead of us. Dora winked as she passed me, but then she almost tripped over an umbrella stand. She recovered quickly and followed Kingsley into the room. It looked like the adults were having a meeting. I tried to see if I could find Cedric among them, but I couldn't. Our view was then blocked by Mrs. Weasley stepping in front of the door.

"Harry, Cassia," she greeted, closing the door behind her.

"Mrs. Weasley..." Harry breathed.

"Thank heavens you're both alright!" She pulled us each into a rib-cracking hug before holding us at arm's length and examining us critically. "Bit peaky, but I'm afraid dinner will have to wait until after the meeting's finished."

I started to protest, but Mrs. Weasley stopped us. "No. No time to explain. Straight upstairs, first door on the left," she directed.

We crept up the stairs, passing a pair of long, moth-eaten curtains along the way. A very old and grouchy-looking house elf glared daggers at us as we climbed the stairs and, one at a time, crossed the dingy landing. I turned the bedroom doorknob, which was shaped like a serpent's head.

I caught a brief glimpse of a gloomy, high-ceilinged, twin-bedded room; then there was a loud twittering noise, followed by an even louder shriek, and our vision was completely obscured by a large quantity of very sleek hair. Hermione had thrown herself onto Harry and I in a hug that nearly knocked us flat, while Ron's tiny owl, Pigwidgeon, zoomed excitedly round and round our heads.

"Harry, Cassia! Are you alright? We've heard them talking about the Dementor attack. You must tell us everything!" she said.

"Let 'em breathe, Hermione," Ron cut in, grinning as he closed the door behind us. He seemed to have grown several more inches during our month apart, making him taller and more gangly-looking than ever, though the long nose, bright red hair and freckles were the same.

"And this hearing at the Ministry...it's just outrageous! I've looked it up. They can't expel you! It's completely unfair!" Hermione went on.

"There's a lot of that going around, Hermione," Harry remarked. Note the sarcasm.

"What is this place?" I asked, looking about the room.

"It's Headquarters," Ron said.

"For the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore formed it back when they first fought You-Know-Who," Hermione added.

"Only what?" I asked, urging them to go on.

He was about to continue, but Hermione beat him to it. "Only Dumbledore made us swear not to tell you anything," she said.

The warm glow that had flared inside me at the sight of my two best friends all together was extinguished as something icy flooded the pit of my stomach. All of a sudden - after yearning to see them for a solid month, I felt I would rather Ron and Hermione leave us alone. I didn't need to look at Harry to tell he felt the same way.

"Why the hell would he want to keep us in the dark about this?" I asked. "He knows Harry and I can help the Order. We saw Snakeface return, for crying out loud!"

"We're the ones who fought him," Harry chimed in. "We're the ones who saved Cedric's life in that graveyard."

My hands clenched into fists. "Who, by the way, owes me an apology and an explanation for blowing me off several times!" I felt my body temperature climbing as I got angrier and angrier.

With two loud cracks, Fred and George, Ron's elder twin brothers, had materialized out of thin air in the middle of the room.

"Hey, guys," Fred greeted.

"Thought we heard your dulcet tones," George added, beaming at us.

"You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, guys, let it all out," Fred said, also beaming.

"Or would you like to hear something a little more interesting?" George suggested.

I grinned, crossing my arms. "Enlighten us."

* * *

Fred and George cautiously lowered an Extendable Ear towards the ground, in front of the kitchen door. On the other end of the string, George held what looked like a small speaker, so we could hear what the Order was discussing.

"If anyone's got a right to know, it's them. If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't even know Voldemort was back!" That was Sirius.

"They're not members of the Order of the Phoenix!" Mrs. Weasley said. "They're only fifteen and-"

"-and they've dealt with as much as most in the Order," Sirius cut in, "and more than some."

"No one's denying what they've done!" Mrs. Weasley said, her voice raising, her fists trembling on the arms of her chair. "But they're still-"

"They're not children!" Sirius said impatiently.

"They're not adults either!" Mrs. Weasley pointed out. "They're not Lily and James, Sirius!"

"Harry's not your son, and Cassia isn't your daughter," Sirius said quietly.

"They're as good as," Mrs. Weasley said fiercely. "Who else have they got?"

"They've got me!" It was true. Sirius was our only family. Well, that's not entirely true. We have our aunt and uncle, but I speak for both Harry and myself when I say I don't give a damn about them.

"How touchingly...paternal, Black. Perhaps they will grow up to be felons, just like their father," I heard Snape comment.

"Snape's part of the Order?" Harry whispered, to which Ron only nodded in reply.

Looking down, I saw Crookshanks licking his lips as he eyed the ear. _Oh, boy..._

Fred tried to pull the ear up, but Crookshanks grabbed it and shook it in his mouth, trying to yank it free of its string.

"Crookshanks, stop it! Crookshanks, leave it alone!" Hermione whisper-shouted. It was no use. Crookshanks yanked the ear free from its string, and stalked off with it.

"Hermione, I hate your cat," Ron mumbled.

"Bad Crookshanks!" Hermione scolded.

Mrs. Weasley appeared in the hallway, a smile on her face. "Well, the meeting down in the kitchen - OH! Just because you're allowed to use magic now does NOT mean you have to whip your wands out for everything!" Looks like Fred and George decided to Apparate behind her. She then looked at Harry and I as we came down the stairs. "You hungry?"

"Harry and Cassia Potter," a masculine voice murmured. Mrs. Weasley moved out of the way, revealing our godfather. He hadn't changed a bit since the last time we saw him.

"Sirius!" Harry and I both exclaimed. We ran over and threw our arms around him.

* * *

After dinner was finished and our plates had been cleared away, I heard two of the adults sitting in front of us start to talk about an urgent matter - the Ministry, for some reason, wasn't on our side.

"What does the Ministry of Magic have against us?" Harry asked.

"Show them. They'll find out soon enough," Moody remarked from where he stood by the head of the table.

Sirius handed Harry a copy of the _Daily Prophet_. Harry's eyes widened when he saw it. I snatched the paper away from Harry once I saw his reaction, and read the paper for myself. The _Prophet_ was lying about the Dark Lord's resurrection. As if that wasn't bad enough, there was an article about me, saying I should be committed. What the hell?!

"Fudge is using all his power, including his influence at The Daily Prophet, to smear anyone who claims the Dark Lord has returned," Sirius informed us.

"Doesn't explain why they're saying I've lost my marbles..." I muttered.

"The Minister thinks Dumbledore is after his job," Remus explained.

"That's insane! Nobody in their right mind would believe that Dumbledore-" Harry started to object.

Remus cut him off. "Exactly the point. Fudge _isn't_ in his right mind. It's been twisted and warped by fear. Now, fear makes people do terrible things. The last time Voldemort gained power he almost destroyed everything we hold most dear. Now he's returned and I'm afraid the Minister will do almost anything to avoid facing that terrible truth."

"We think Voldemort wants to build up his army again," Sirius jumped in. "Fourteen years ago, he had huge numbers at his command: witches and wizards he'd bullied or bewitched into following him, his faithful Death Eaters, and all manner of dark creatures. He has been recruiting heavily and we have been attempting to do the same. But gathering followers isn't all he's interested in.." Everyone's eyes were on him now. "We believe Voldemort may be after something," he said.

"Sirius..." Moody said in a warning tone, only to be ignored again.

"Something he didn't have last time," Sirius said.

"When he was powerful before?" I questioned.

He nodded. "Yes."

"You mean...like a weapon?" Harry asked.

"No. That's enough," Mrs. Weasley interrupted, snatching the paper from us. "They are just children! You say much more and we might as well induct them straightaway."

"Good. I want to join," Harry said.

"Me, too," I added. "I'm sick of the secrecy."

"If Voldemort's raising an army, then we want to fight!" Harry exclaimed.

Sirius sighed, giving a look of defeat.

Mrs. Weasley was _not_ happy about this. She asked - no, ordered - everyone to go to bed, and no staying up to talk.

I was sure I wouldn't be able to fall asleep; the evening had been so packed with things to think about that I fully expected to lie awake for hours, mulling it all over. I expected Harry, in the room across the hall from mine, would be doing the same.


	63. The hearing

**Cassia's POV**

After a week of spraying Doxycide in every room at Headquarters, August 12th had finally arrived. The day of Harry's disciplinary hearing. And we were both dreading it.

I pulled back the covers and slid out of bed. Hermione and Ginny remained asleep in the two beds across from mine, not even stirring. I tiptoed out of the room, shutting the door behind me, and ran to the bathroom so I could have a quick shower. Worry filled my brain as I turned the water on, stripped, and stepped under the cold water. If Fudge and the rest of the Ministry were against us, then there was a very good chance that we would lose the case, and Harry would be expelled from Hogwarts, for real this time. I felt a knot form in the pit of my stomach.

I turned off the water and wrapped a towel around my torso, using an elastic on my wrist to tie my hair up. When I reentered my shared bedroom, I saw - to my relief - that Hermione and Ginny were still fast asleep. An outfit was already laid out on my bed. Mrs. Weasley had probably put it together for me. I made a mental note to thank her for that as I got dressed.

To complete the look, I fasted my snitch necklace that Cedric had gifted me around my neck. I checked myself over in the mirror. My makeup gave me a natural look, but my red lipstick made it pop. I let my hair down after drying it and brushing it free of tangles; some of it was pinned back so it was out of my eyes, and the tips were curled. On my feet were a pair of nude-colored high heels. To keep my wand safe, I stuck it in the waistline of my skirt.

I left the room, shutting the door behind me again, and went downstairs. On my way into the kitchen, I saw Cedric enter the house. He looked exactly the way he had the last time I saw him, except his clothes were different now. Instead of street clothes or his Hufflepuff uniform, he wore khaki pants, a white button-down shirt, black dress shoes, and a matching black blazer - though most of it was concealed by a brown cloak. His eyes met mine, and at once his face lit up. He ran up to me and threw his arms around me.

"I missed you so much, love." He leaned down to kiss me on the cheek. When I didn't respond, he frowned. "What, no 'I missed you too, Ceddy?'"

I didn't answer.

"Aren't you happy to see me again?" he asked.

 _Of course I am! I'm always happy to see you, but I'm angry because I have a bone to pick with you!_ I gently pried his hands off my waist, and was about to go into the kitchen when he grabbed my hand.

"Come on, Cass. Talk to me!" he pleaded. "What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you what's wrong," I hissed, yanking my hand out of his grip. "We had so many dates planned over the past two months, and you just called them all off!"

"I had to," Cedric said.

I rolled my eyes. "With no reason?! Or an apology?!"

"Shh!" he shushed me. "Keep your voice down!"

"Why?" I demanded.

The moth-eaten velvet curtains to my left flew apart, revealing a huge portrait of an old woman in a black cap. She started screeching as loud as humanly possible.

"FILTHY SCUM!" It was like hearing nails on a chalkboard.

Cedric grimaced as he jabbed a thumb in the direction of the portrait. "That's why..."

I clamped my hands over my ears, trying to block out the woman's screams of "MUDBLOODS! BLOOD TRAITORS! HALF-BREEDS! DISGRACEFUL BEINGS, BLACKENING OUR SOCIETY'S GOOD NAME!"

Sirius came running in. "Who woke her?"

"Guilty..." I sheepishly raised a hand. "I'm sorry. I had no idea that would happen."

He and Cedric rushed over to the curtains, yanking them closed. The woman stopped screaming the second they did this.

"Looks like no one gave you the heads-up about my mother's portrait in the hallway," Sirius said.

"That -" I pointed to the concealed portrait behind the curtains, "- is your mother?"

"Sadly, yes." Sirius nodded.

"Geez, how the hell are you two related?"

He chuckled. "I ask myself that question all the time." His expression became serious as he looked at Cedric. "Now, I believe you owe my goddaughter an explanation for blatantly ignoring her for two months." He headed into the kitchen, leaving us alone to talk.

"I never ignored you, Cassia," Cedric said.

"Well, it sure seems like you did..." I muttered.

"I wouldn't have blown you off like that if I had the choice," he defended.

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"About two weeks after school let out for the summer holiday, I...I joined the Order. I've been abroad with Ron's brother Charlie, trying to recruit foreign wizards," Cedric explained.

"Oh."

"I've also been trying to find time to study for my N.E. ," he added. "So it's been stressful for me. I wanted more than anything to come and see you, but I couldn't. And I couldn't explain all of this to you through letters because the Ministry is tightening its control over the owl post. It was a risk I didn't want to take. I'm so sorry, love."

I walked over to him and stood on tiptoe, kissing him on the lips. "I forgive you."

Cedric put a hand over his heart, and sighed in relief. "Thank Merlin. For a second there, I thought you wouldn't...not right away, I mean."

"Oh, Ceddy, the only way I would ever not forgive you is if you cheated on me. And, I have to be honest, at first I thought you might be, when you kept canceling dates," I said.

He smiled. "I'm going to make it up to you, Cassia, starting now. And believe me when I say that I will never, ever cheat on you. You -" I giggled as he tapped my nose "- are the only girl for me."

"I love you, Cedric." I wrapped my arms around his neck and captured his lips with my own. The kiss lasted way longer than the one we'd shared after our first big fight last year, and it was much more passionate.

"I love you, too," he spoke once we broke apart, struggling to catch his breath.

I sighed. "I hate to ruin the moment, I really do, but we should probably go get some breakfast. I'm gonna need something to keep my energy up for this hearing Harry and I have to go to."

"I heard," Cedric said. "Harry's facing expulsion from Hogwarts for using magic to defend you guys. Doesn't really help that the Ministry doesn't believe our claims that Voldemort's returned."

"How did Amos take it when he heard Fudge thought you were lying?" I asked as we entered the kitchen.

"Not well." Cedric chuckled. "He went into the Minister's office and yelled at Fudge, saying he was an idiot for not believing his own son, and you and Harry."

"What did Fudge do?" I asked.

"Fired him. But Dad didn't care. He says it was worth it," Cedric replied. _Amos gave up his job for Harry and I? Oh, no. He shouldn't have done that. How is he going to help Mrs. Diggory support their family?_

Before I could voice this concern out loud, Mrs. Weasley came over to us. "Good morning, Cassia! I was wondering when you'd be joining us!" She beamed when she saw Cedric. "And Cedric, it's so good to have you back!" she added, giving him a bear hug.

"Good to be back, Mrs. Weasley," Cedric replied.

"Morning..." I greeted, holding back a yawn. "Thank you for laying out those clothes for me, by the way. You didn't have to do that."

"Oh, it was nothing, dear," she said. "Now, what do you want for breakfast? Harry's at the table over here, all he wanted was toast."

"Just some chamomile with honey, please," I requested.

She looked skeptical. "Are you sure that's all you want?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. Cedric, would you like anything?"

He shook his head. "Maybe later."

We took our seats at the table, directly across from Harry and Mr. Weasley, while Mrs. Weasley was fixing my tea. I could tell Harry was too nervous to eat, for two reasons: 1) He'd only taken one bite of his toast, and 2) I was just as nervous.

"You, too?" I whispered, making him look up at me in confusion. I glanced at his barely-eaten toast. He also looked down, and then back up at me, seeming to get the gist of what I was referring to.

"Oh...yeah," he muttered.

A steaming mug was placed in front of me. I gently took it in my hands and blew on it a few times to cool it down, before taking a sip. "That's why I asked for chamomile."

"Smart," Harry complimented.

I held the cup out to him. "Here. You can have some."

"Thank you." He took the cup and drank from it really fast. When he handed it back to me, I was surprised to see the cup was half full.

"It'll all be over soon," Mr. Weasley said bracingly. "In a few hours' time you'll be cleared."

We said nothing.

"The hearing's on my floor, in Amelia Bones' office. She's Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and she's the one who'll be questioning you," Mr. Weasley explained to Harry and I.

"Amelia Bones is ok, guys," Dora said earnestly. "She's fair, she'll hear you out."

I sighed, finishing off the rest of my tea. "I hope so..."

Cedric took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Hey, would it help if I came to the hearing with you guys?"

"You know you don't have to..." I tried to say, before I was cut off. But instead of Cedric, it was Harry who spoke. For a second, I thought he was going to say no, but I turned out to be wrong.

"Actually, I think that might help," he said.

I wanted to disagree, but when I thought it over, I realized Harry was right. We needed all the support we could get. "I concur."

"Don't lose your temper," Sirius said abruptly. "Be polite and stick to the facts."

Harry nodded.

"The law's on your side," Lupin said quietly. "Even underage wizards are allowed to use magic in life-threatening situations."

Mr. Weasley checked his watch and looked up at Harry and I. "I think we'll go now," he said. "We're a bit early, but I think you'll be better off at the Ministry than hanging around here."

"Okay," Harry said automatically, dropping his toast and getting to his feet. Cedric and I followed suit.

"You'll be all right, Harry," Dora said, patting him on the arm.

"Good luck," Lupin said. "I'm sure it will be fine."

"And if it's not," Sirius said grimly, "I'll see to Amelia Bones for you."

Harry smiled weakly. Mrs. Weasley hugged us.

"We've all got our fingers crossed," she said.

"Thanks," I said, before following the three men out of the kitchen. I could hear Sirius' mother grunting in her sleep behind her curtains. Alright, I'm not taking any chances. I took off my heels, picked them up with one hand, and walked down the hall barefoot. Once I made it to the door, I glanced back at the curtains to see they had stayed drawn. _Thank goodness._

"Good thinking," Cedric whispered as he helped me get my shoes back on.

"Yeah, I wasn't too keen on hearing that woman screech again," Harry added.

I nodded in agreement. "Me, neither."

* * *

We had taken the underground to a station in central London. Due to his affinity for Muggles and anything pertaining to them, Mr. Weasley thought it was impressive how the stile just took his ticket as we got ready to board the train. Speaking of Muggles, they crowded the streets, each of them hurrying to make it to their shifts at work on time.

The soles of my feet started to hurt, but I ignored it as we kept walking. After about ten or fifteen minutes, we turned onto a street that contained several rather shabby-looking offices, a pub and an overflowing skip. Not exactly what I'd pictured for an entrance to the Ministry.

"Here we are," Mr. Weasley said brightly, pointing at an old red telephone box, which was missing several panes of glass and stood before a heavily graffitied wall. "After you."

He opened the telephone door.

I stepped inside first, then Cedric, and then Harry. Mr. Weasley folded himself in beside me and closed the door. It was a tight fit; Harry was jammed against the telephone apparatus, which was hanging crookedly from the wall as though a vandal had tried to rip it off.

" _This_ is the entrance to the Ministry?" I asked.

Mr. Weasley shook his head. "No, this is only the visitors' entrance. I would have Apparated, but I thought that this way would make a better impression...given the current situation." I watched him closely as he held the receiver above his head and dialed five numbers; six, two, four, four, two.

As the dial whirred smoothly back into place, a cool female voice sounded inside the telephone box, not from the receiver in Mr. Weasley's hand, but as loudly and plainly as though an invisible woman were standing right beside us.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."

"Er…" Mr. Weasley said, clearly uncertain whether or not he should talk into the receiver. He compromised by holding the mouthpiece to his ear, "Arthur Weasley, Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, here to escort Harry and Cassia Potter, who have been asked to attend a disciplinary hearing..."

"Thank you," said the cool female voice. "Visitors, please take the badge and attach it to the front of your robes."

There was a click and a rattle, and I saw two things slide out of the metal chute where returned coins usually appeared. I picked one up; it was a square silver badge with Harry Potter, Disciplinary Hearing on it. Harry gently took it from me and pinned it to his jacket. I did the same as the female voice spoke again.

"Visitors to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wands for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium."

The floor of the telephone box shuddered. We were sinking slowly into the ground. Harry and I watched apprehensively as the pavement seemed to rise up past the glass windows of the telephone box until darkness closed over our heads. Then I could see nothing at all; I could hear only a dull grinding noise as the telephone box made its way down through the earth. After about a minute, though it felt much longer to us, a chunk of golden light illuminated our feet and, widening, rose up our bodies, until it hit us in the face, forcing Harry to blink and me to shield my eyes with one hand.

"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day," the woman's voice said.

The door of the telephone box sprang open and Mr. Weasley stepped out of it, followed by Cedric, then me, and finally Harry, whose mouth had fallen open.

We were standing at one end of a very long and splendid hall with a highly polished, dark wood floor. The peacock blue ceiling was inlaid with gleaming golden symbols that kept moving and changing like some enormous heavenly noticeboard. The walls on each side were paneled in shiny dark wood and had many gilded fireplaces set into them. Every few seconds a witch or wizard would emerge from one of the left-hand fireplaces with a soft whoosh. On the right-hand side, short queues were forming before each fireplace, waiting to depart.

Halfway down the hall was a fountain. A group of golden statues, larger than life-size, stood in the middle of a circular pool. Tallest of them all was a noble-looking wizard with his wand pointing straight up in the air. Grouped around him were a beautiful witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf. The last three were all looking adoringly up at the witch and wizard. Glittering jets of water were flying from the ends of their wands, the point of the centaur's arrow, the tip of the goblin's hat, and each of the house-elf's ears, so that the tinkling hiss of falling water was added to the pops and cracks of the Apparators and the clatter of footsteps as hundreds of witches and wizards, most of whom were wearing glum, early-morning looks, strode towards a set of golden gates at the far end of the hall.

A canvas portrait of the Minister for Magic hung above the fountain. The canvas Fudge would shift every so often, but his stoic expression didn't change. He didn't even look down at the people passing below him.

"Wait a minute. Ceddy, don't you need a badge as well?" I whispered, once I remembered we'd only been given two badges.

Cedric took his wand out and pointed it at my badge. An identical copy of it was now pinned on his blazer, but with the words Cedric Diggory, Visitor on it.

"Touché," I said, earning a wink from him.

The search and wand registration went without a hitch...unless you count the wizard running the security desk recognizing Harry and I from the Daily Prophet, and almost recognizing Cedric.

Jostled slightly by the crowd, we followed Mr. Weasley through the gates into the smaller hall beyond, where at least twenty lifts stood behind wrought golden grilles. Harry, Cedric, Mr. Weasley, and I stepped into one of the lifts. There were probably about three or four other wizards in the lift, one of whom was holding a cardboard box with holes poked in all along the top. Several paper aeroplanes flew into the lift. Each of them had MINISTRY OF MAGIC stamped along the edge of their wings.

"Inter-departmental memos," Mr. Weasley muttered to us. "Used to use owls."

Kingsley Shacklebolt hurriedly entered the lift, squeezing himself behind Mr. Weasley. I saw him whisper something in his ear.

Mr. Weasley's eyes widened. "Merlin's beard..." he muttered, before looking back at him. "Thank you, Kingsley."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"They've changed the time of the hearing," Mr. Weasley replied.

"When is it?" Harry asked as the grilles slid shut.

"In five minutes," Mr. Weasley answered.

The lift began hurtling backwards, and then dropped several floors down before finally coming to a stop. It was dark and cold on this level. Both the walls and the floor had black tile that was so perfectly-polished that it was almost reflective. If I edged close enough, I probably could have seen my face.

As we rushed down the corridor, I heard Mr. Malfoy speaking. "I am confident, Minister, that you will do the right thing," he said.

"Yes, but we must -" Fudge started to say, just as we came across them. They were standing in front of a black door with a golden doorknob. The knob wasn't on the left or right, but right in the middle of the door.

Mr. Weasley pulled us along, stopping in front of a grimy dark door with an immense iron lock.

"Remember, during the hearing, speak only when you're spoken to," he told Harry. "Keep calm. You've done nothing wrong. As the Muggles say, 'truth will out'. Yes?"

"What about you?" Cedric asked, looking at him.

"I'm not allowed in, I'm afraid. Good luck."

As I opened the door and the three of us stepped into the courtroom, I said a little mental prayer for Harry.

* * *

"Disciplinary hearing of the twelfth of August," Fudge said in a ringing voice, "into offenses committed by Harry James Potter, resident at number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley -"

"- Witness for the defense, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore," said a quiet voice to my right. I whipped my head in the speaker's direction.

Dumbledore was striding serenely across the room wearing long midnight-blue robes and a perfectly calm expression. His long silver beard and hair gleamed in the torchlight as he drew level with Harry and looked up at Fudge through the half-moon spectacles that rested halfway down his very crooked nose.

"You - you got our message that the time and place of the hearing had been changed, did you?" Fudge said.

"I must have missed it, but by a happy mistake, I arrived at the Ministry three hours early," Dumbledore said. "Charges?"

"The charges against the accused are as follows: that he did knowingly, and in full awareness of the illegality of his actions, having received a previous warning from the Ministry of Magic on a similar charge, produce a Patronus Charm in the presence of a Muggle," Fudge read the charges on the parchment sitting in front of him. He then looked at Harry with a piercing gaze. "Do you deny producing said patronus?"

"No, but -" Harry tried to say.

"And you were aware that you were forbidden to use magic outside school while under the age of seventeen?" Fudge inquired.

"Yes, but -"

"Knowing that you were in an area full of Muggles?"

"Yes, but -"

"Fully aware that you were in close proximity to a Muggle at the time?" _Would you s_ _top interrupting Harry and hear what he has to say?! I know you're paranoid from denial, but this is_ _supposed to be a FAIR hearing, and you're not being very fair!_

"Yes," Harry said angrily, "but I only used it because we were -"

A witch with a monocle cut across him in a booming voice.

"You produced a fully-fledged Patronus?"

"Yes," Harry said, "because -"

"A corporeal Patronus?"

"A - what?" Harry said.

"Your Patronus had a clearly defined form? I mean to say, it was more than vapor or smoke?"

"Yes," Harry said. I could tell he was impatient. "It's a stag, it's always a stag."

"And your sister?"

"Hers has always been a doe."

"Always?" Madam Bones boomed. "You have produced a Patronus before now?"

"Yes." Harry said. "Cassia and I have been doing it for over a year."

"And you are both fifteen years old?"

"Yes, and -"

"You learned this at school?"

"Yes, Professor Lupin taught us in our third year, because of the -"

"Impressive," Madam Bones said, switching her gaze from Harry to me, "a true Patronus at their age...very impressive indeed."

Some of the witches and wizards around her were muttering again; a few nodded, but others were frowning and shaking their heads.

"It's not a question of how impressive the magic was," Fudge said in a testy voice, "in fact, the more impressive the worse it is, I would have thought, given that the boy did it in plain view of a Muggle!" _He didn't have a choice; it was a life-or-death situation!_

Those who had been frowning now murmured in agreement, but it was the sight of Percy's sanctimonious little nod that goaded Harry into speech. (I knew what happened with Percy because Ginny had told me a few nights ago. Percy put his career before his family, because he thought Mr. Weasley was an idiot for believing what Harry and I had said about Voldemort's return. I can't believe he would do that.)

"I was only doing it because of the Dementors!" Harry said loudly, before anyone could interrupt him again.

The court fell into silence at his words.

"Dementors? In Little Whinging?" Madam Bones said, in a great tone of surprise.

I saw Fudge give an unpleasant smirk. "That's quite clever. Muggles can't see dementors, can they, boy?" he said. "Highly convenient."

"I'm not lying!" Harry said loudly. "There were two of them, and if I hadn't -"

"Enough," Fudge said, with a very supercilious look on his face. "I'm sorry to interrupt what I'm sure would have been a very well-rehearsed story, but since you can produce no witnesses of the event -"

"Pardon me, Minister, but as it happens, we can," Dumbledore interjected.

 _Guess that's my cue._ I gently detached my hand from Cedric's and made my way out of the stands and into the chair where Harry had sat before. My hands trembled, but I fought to keep them folded in my lap. I couldn't let Fudge or any members of the Wizengamot know I was nervous.

"You are Cassia Helena Potter, sister of the accused?" Fudge asked, gazing at me the same way he had done with Harry.

"Yes, sir."

"And you are a witness to the event in question?"

"Yes, sir."

"Explain to the Wizengamot exactly what happened on the evening of the second of August," Madam Bones requested.

"Harry and I were sitting in the park, but then our cousin Dudley and his group of friends came over and started teasing us. We pointed our wands at him when he made fun of us for being orphans, but we never performed any spells. The sky soon filled with very dark clouds, and I got a feeling that we were being watched. Dudley, Harry, and I ran into a tunnel, just as it started to storm," I explained. "The lights in the tunnel flickered, and I felt a pain in my head. I could sense danger, but I couldn't tell what that danger was. A dementor appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Harry by the throat. Harry managed to tell Dudley and I to run; Dudley did, but he slipped on a puddle and fell on his back. Then two more dementors came into the tunnel and started to suck out our souls, but Harry somehow managed to grab his wand and cast a Patronus to fend off the three dementors."

"And this was done to protect himself, along with you and your cousin?" Madam Bones questioned.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Thank you, Miss Potter. You may return to your seat."

I nodded curtly at her as I rose from the chair and headed back to my place next to Cedric.

On Fudge's orders, Percy left his seat and hurried out of the courtroom to fetch the second witness, whom Dumbledore had brought with him to the Ministry. That witness was Mrs. Figg. I felt so bad for her when I saw her come into the room - she looked scared to death.

"Full name?" Fudge said loudly, when Mrs. Figg had perched herself very nervously on the edge of her seat.

"Arabella Doreen Figg," Mrs. Figg said in her quavery voice.

"And who exactly are you?" Fudge said, in a bored and lofty voice.

"I'm a resident of Little Whinging, close to where Harry and Cassia Potter live," Mrs. Figg said.

"We have no record of any witch or wizard living in Little Whinging, other than Harry Potter and, as of recently, Cassia Potter," Madame Bones said at once. "That situation has always been closely monitored, given...given past events."

"I'm a Squib," Mrs. Figg said. "So you wouldn't have me registered, would you?"

"A Squib, eh?" Fudge said, eyeing her closely. "We'll be checking that. You'll leave details of your parentage with my assistant, Weasley. Incidentally, can Squibs see dementors?" he added, looking left and right along the bench.

"Yes, we can!" Mrs. Figg said indignantly.

"Please describe the attack," Madam Bones requested. "What did they look like?"

"Well, one of them was very large, and the other two rather skinny -"

"Not the teenagers, the dementors," Fudge said, a bit agitated.

"Oh, right. Right," Mrs. Figg said, starting to blush from embarrassment. "Big - cloaked - then everything went cold, as though all the happiness had gone from the world...and I remembered...dreadful things..."

Her voice shook and died.

"Now, look here, dementors don't just happen into a Muggle suburb and happen across a witch or wizard," Fudge objected. "The odds are astronomical."

"I don't think anyone would believe the Dementors were there by coincidence, Minister," Dumbledore pointed out.

Someone gave a fake cough, attracting his attention. It was a witch sitting in the stands, to my right.

I thought she looked just like a large, pale toad. She was rather squat with a broad, flabby face, as little neck as Uncle Vernon and a very wide, slack mouth. Her eyes were large, round and slightly bulging. The witch spoke in a fluttery, girlish, high-pitched voice that took me aback; I had been expecting a croak.

"I'm sure I must have misunderstood you, Professor," she said, with a simper that left her big, round eyes as cold as ever. "Dementors are, after all, under the control of the Ministry, and - so silly of me, but it sounds as though you were suggesting that the Ministry had ordered the attack on these children."

"That would be disturbing indeed, Madam Undersecretary," Dumbledore said, "which is why I'm sure the Ministry will be mounting a full investigation as to why those three dementors were so very far from Azkaban and why they attacked without authorization." He got closer to Fudge and pleaded, "Cornelius, I implore you to see reason. The evidence that the Dark Lord has returned is incontrovertible."

"He is not back!" Fudge hissed.

Dumbledore addressed the court. "In the matter of Harry Potter, the law clearly states that magic may be used before Muggles in exceptional circumstances."

"Laws can be changed if necessary, Dumbledore," Fudge said savagely.

"Of course they can," Dumbledore said, inclining his head. "And you certainly seem to be making many changes, Cornelius. Why, in the few short weeks since I was asked to leave the Wizengamot, it has already become the practice to hold a full criminal trial to deal with a simple matter of underage magic!"

The courtroom again fell into silence. You could literally hear a pin drop, it was so quiet.

"Those in favor of conviction?" Madam Bones asked.

Harry, who was sitting next to me, gripped my hand tightly, while Cedric was holding my other hand. My heart was beating so fast it might have rivaled a jackhammer's speed.

Seven people raised their hands. Fudge and the toad-faced witch on his right were among them.

"Those in favor of clearing the accused of all charges?" Madam Bones asked. _Please, for the love of Merlin, be more than sev_ _en votes!_

More than half the courtroom had their hand raised, including Mrs. Figg.

Fudge glanced around at them all, looking as though there was something large stuck in his throat, then lowered his own hand. He took two deep breaths and said, in a voice very distorted by suppressed rage, "Very well, very well...cleared of all charges." The sound of his gavel echoed throughout the room.

With the hearing adjourned, Dumbledore walked out of the courtroom. Harry tried to get his attention, but failed. Meanwhile, I could barely contain my happiness. The Wizengamot court had dropped the charges against Harry!


	64. Coming back for our OWL year

**Cassia's POV**

"What d'you reckon Mr. Malfoy was doing talking to Fudge?" Harry whispered as we made our way to the door. We would have asked if we were allowed to leave, but everyone was ignoring us except the toadlike witch who had been sitting to Fudge's right. For some reason, she wouldn't stop gazing down at us.

Ignoring her, I pulled open the door. "My guess? Trying to sway the verdict by bribing Fudge, which doesn't surprise me."

"You mean he's done that before?" Cedric asked.

"Unfortunately," Harry replied. "It's because of him that Draco's on the Slytherin Quidditch team."

"Bought them all the latest Nimbus models - the 2001s - just to secure Draco's position as the Seeker," I added.

"Damn..." Cedric muttered. "That guy's a snake." We came out into the corridor, where Mr. Weasley had been waiting.

"Dumbledore didn't say -"

"Cleared," Harry said, pulling the door closed behind us, "of all charges!"

Beaming, Mr. Weasley seized Harry by the shoulders.

"Harry, that's wonderful! Well, of course, they couldn't have found you guilty, not on the evidence, but even so, I can't pretend I wasn't -"

But Mr. Weasley broke off, because the courtroom door had just opened again. The Wizengamot were filing out.

"Merlin's beard!" he exclaimed wonderingly, pulling Harry aside to let them all pass, while Cedric and I simply stepped back. "You were tried by the full court?"

I nodded. "Unfortunately..."

One or two of the wizards nodded to Harry and I as they passed and a few, including Madam Bones, said "Morning, Arthur," to Mr. Weasley, but most averted their eyes. Cornelius Fudge and the toadlike witch were almost the last to leave the dungeon. Fudge acted as though the five of us were part of the wall, but again, the witch looked almost appraisingly at Harry and I as she passed. Last of all to pass was Percy. Like Fudge, he completely ignored his father and us; he marched past clutching a large roll of parchment and a handful of spare quills, his back rigid and his nose in the air. The lines around Mr. Weasley's mouth tightened slightly, but other than this he gave no sign that he had seen his third son.

 _I hope Percy comes to his senses soon,_ I thought as Mr. Weasley led us back down the corridor. I glanced at Harry and noticed he seemed a bit shaken. "Harry, are you okay?" I asked.

He nodded and then shook his head. "I didn't like the way that woman was looking at us."

"The one to Fudge's right? With the toadlike face?" Cedric questioned.

"Yeah. Her eyes went from Cassia to me. I couldn't tell why she was watching us, though," Harry said.

The lift arrived; it was empty except for a flock of memos that flapped around Mr. Weasley's head as he pressed the button for the Atrium and the doors clanged shut. He waved them away irritably.

"Mr. Weasley," Harry said slowly, "if Fudge is meeting Death Eaters like Malfoy, if he's seeing them alone, how do we know they haven't put the Imperius Curse on him?"

"Don't think it hadn't occurred to us, Harry," said Mr. Weasley quietly, "But Dumbledore thinks Fudge is acting of his own accord - which, as Dumbledore says, is not a lot of comfort..."

"...and he's making the wrong decisions because he's afraid of losing his job," I finished.

Mr. Weasley nodded in reply. "Best not talk about it any more just now..."

* * *

"I knew it!" Ron yelled, punching the air. "You always get away with stuff!"

"They were bound to clear you," said Hermione, who had looked positively faint with anxiety when we had entered the kitchen and was now holding a shaking hand over her eyes, "there was no case against you, none at all."

"Everyone seems quite relieved, though, considering you all knew I'd get off," Harry said, smiling.

Mrs. Weasley was wiping her face on her apron, and Fred, George, and Ginny were doing a kind of war dance to a chant that went: "He got off, he got off, he got off -"

"That's enough! Settle down!" Mr. Weasley shouted, though he too was smiling. "Listen, Sirius, Lucius Malfoy was at the Ministry -"

"What?" Sirius said sharply.

"He got off, he got off, he got off -"

"Be quiet, you three!"

"We saw him in the basement, talking with Fudge, not too far from the courtroom where the hearing took place," Cedric explained.

"What was he doing there?" Sirius asked.

"Cassia thinks he was trying to bribe Fudge. She said it didn't come as a surprise, considering he bribed the Slytherin team into making Draco their new Seeker," Harry answered, and I nodded to confirm this.

"Dumbledore ought to know," Mr. Weasley said.

"Absolutely," Sirius agreed. "We'll tell him, don't worry."

"Well, I'd better get going, there's a vomiting toilet waiting for me in Bethnal Green. Molly, I'll be late, I'm covering for Tonks, but Kingsley might be dropping in for dinner -"

"He got off, he got off, he got off -"

"That's enough - Fred - George - Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley said, as Mr. Weasley left the kitchen. "Harry, Cassia, Cedric, come and sit down, have some lunch, you hardly ate breakfast..."

Over the next few days I could not help noticing that there was one person within number twelve, Grimmauld Place, who did not seem wholly overjoyed that Harry would be returning to Hogwarts. Sirius had put up a very good show of happiness on first hearing the news, wringing our hands and beaming just like the rest of them. Soon, however, he was moodier and surlier than before, talking less to everybody, even Harry and I, and spending increasing amounts of time shut up in his mother's room with Buckbeak.

"Don't you go feeling guilty!" Hermione said sternly, after I had confided some of my feelings to her, Ron, and Cedric while we scrubbed out a moldy cupboard on the third floor a few days later. "You and Harry belong at Hogwarts and Sirius knows it. Personally, I think he's being selfish."

"That's a bit harsh, Hermione," Ron said, frowning as he attempted to pry off a bit of mold that had attached itself firmly to his finger, "you wouldn't want to be stuck inside this house without any company."

"He'll have company!" Hermione said. "It's Headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix, isn't it? He just got his hopes up that Harry would be coming to live here with him."

"I don't think that's true," Harry said, wringing out his cloth.

"We asked him last week, and he didn't give us a straight answer," I piped up.

"He just didn't want to get his own hopes up even more," Hermione said wisely. "And he probably felt a bit guilty himself, because I think a part of him was really hoping you'd be expelled. Then you'd both be outcasts together."

"Come off it!" Harry and Ron said together, but Hermione merely shrugged.

"Suit yourselves. But I sometimes think Ron's mum's right and Sirius gets confused about whether you're you or your parents."

"So you think he's touched in the head?" Harry said heatedly.

"No, I just think he's been very lonely for a long time," Hermione said simply.

At this point, Mrs. Weasley entered the bedroom behind us.

"Still not finished?" she said, poking her head into the cupboard.

"I'd say we're barely halfway through," I replied.

"I thought you might be here to tell us to have a break!" Ron said bitterly. "D'you know how much mold we've got rid of since we arrived here?"

"You were so keen to help the Order," Mrs. Weasley said, "you can do your bit by making Headquarters fit to live in."

"I feel like a house-elf," Ron grumbled.

"Well, now you understand what dreadful lives they lead, perhaps you'll be a bit more active in S.P.E.W!" Hermione said hopefully, as Mrs. Weasley left us to it.

I rolled my eyes. "Here we go again..."

"You know, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to show people exactly how horrible it is to clean all the time - we could do a sponsored scrub of Gryffindor common room, all proceeds to S.P.E.W., it would raise awareness as well as funds -"

"I'll sponsor you to shut up about spew," Ron muttered irritably, but only so Harry, Cedric, and I could hear him.

 **Harry's POV**

I found myself daydreaming about Hogwarts more and more as the end of the holidays approached; I could not wait to see Hagrid again, to play Quidditch, even to stroll across the vegetable patches to the Herbology greenhouses; it would be a treat just to leave this dusty, musty house, where half of the cupboards were still bolted shut and Kreacher wheezed insults out of the shadows as you passed, though I was careful not to say any of this within earshot of Sirius.

The fact was that living at the Headquarters of the anti-Voldemort movement was not nearly as interesting or exciting as I would have expected before Cassia and I had experienced it. Though members of the Order of the Phoenix came and went regularly, sometimes staying for meals, sometimes only for a few minutes of whispered conversation, Mrs. Weasley made sure that I and the others were kept well out of earshot (whether Extendable or normal) and nobody, not even Sirius, seemed to feel that my sister and I needed to know anything more than we had heard on the night of our arrival.

On the very last day of the holidays I was sweeping up Hedwig's owl droppings from the top of the wardrobe when Ron entered our bedroom carrying a couple of envelopes.

"Booklists have arrived," he said, throwing one of the envelopes to me, and another to Cassia, who was sitting on the bed, taking a break from scrubbing the windows and floors. "About time, I thought they'd forgotten, they usually come much earlier than this..."

"Wonder what the holdup was," Cassia mused as she tore open her letter.

I swept the last of the droppings into a rubbish bin and threw the bag over Ron's head into the wastepaper basket in the corner, which swallowed it and belched loudly.

"Nice shot," my sister complimented, smiling at me.

I smiled back at her in thanks and opened my letter. It contained two pieces of parchment: one the usual reminder that term started on the first of September; the other telling me which books I would need for the following year.

"Only two new ones," I said, reading the list, "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5, by Miranda Goshawk, and Defensive Magical Theory, by Wilbert Slinkhard."

Crack.

Fred and George Apparated right beside me. I was so used to them doing this by now that I didn't even fall off my chair.

"We were just wondering who assigned the Slinkhard book," Fred said conversationally.

"Because it means Dumbledore's found a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," George said.

"And about time, too," Fred said.

"What d'you mean?" I asked, jumping down beside them.

"Well, we overheard Mum and Dad talking on the Extendable Ears a few weeks back," Fred told me, "and from what they were saying, Dumbledore was having real trouble finding anyone to do the job this year."

"Not surprising, is it, when you look at what's happened to the last four," George said.

"One sacked -"

"Lupin wasn't sacked, he quit," Cassia pointed out.

"Right, sorry. One resigned, one dead, one's memory removed, and one locked in a trunk for nine months," I said, counting them off on my fingers. "Yeah, I see what you mean."

"What's up with you, Ron?" Fred asked.

Ron did not answer. I looked round. Ron was standing very still with his mouth slightly open, gaping at his letter from Hogwarts.

"Ron, are you okay?" Cassia asked.

"What's the matter?" Fred said impatiently, moving around Ron to look over his shoulder at the parchment.

Fred's mouth fell open, too.

"Prefect?" he said, staring incredulously at the letter. "Prefect?"

"What?"

George leapt forward, seized the envelope in Ron's other hand and turned it upside-down. I saw something scarlet and gold fall into George's palm.

"No way," George said in a hushed voice.

"There's been a mistake," Fred said, snatching the letter out of Ron's grasp and holding it up to the light as though checking for a watermark. "No one in their right mind would make Ron a prefect."

The twins' heads turned in unison and both of them stared at me.

"We thought you were a cert!" Fred said, in a tone that suggested I had tricked them in some way.

"We thought Dumbledore was bound to pick you!" George said indignantly.

"Winning the Triwizard and everything!" Fred said.

Cassia rolled her eyes. "Harry and Cedric tied." The twins weren't listening to her, though.

"I suppose all the mad stuff must've counted against him," George said to Fred.

"Yeah," Fred said slowly. "Yeah, you've caused too much trouble, mate. Well, at least one of you's got their priorities right."

He strode over to me and clapped me on the back while giving Ron a scathing look.

"Prefect...ickle Ronnie the prefect..."

"Oh, Mum's going to be revolting," George groaned, thrusting the prefect badge back at Ron as though it might contaminate him.

Ron, who still had not said a word, took the badge, stared at it for a moment, then held it out to me as though asking mutely for confirmation that it was genuine. I took it. A large 'P' was superimposed on the Gryffindor lion. I had seen a badge just like this on Percy's chest on my very first day at Hogwarts.

The door banged open. Hermione came tearing into the room, her cheeks flushed and her hair flying. There was an envelope in her hand.

"Did you - did you get -?"

She spotted the badge in my hand and let out a shriek.

"I knew it!" she said excitedly, brandishing her letter. "Me too, Harry, me too!"

"No," I said quickly, pushing the badge back into Ron's hand. "It's Ron, not me."

"It - what?"

"Ron's prefect, not me," I said.

"Ron?" Hermione said, her jaw dropping.

"Mm-hmm," Cassia hummed in response.

"But...are you sure? I mean -"

She turned red as Ron looked round at her with a defiant expression on his face.

"It's my name on the letter," he said.

"I...Hermione said, looking thoroughly bewildered. "I...well...wow! Well done, Ron! That's really -"

"Unexpected," George said, nodding.

"No," Hermione said, blushing harder than ever, "no it's not...Ron's done loads of...he's really..."

The door behind her opened a little wider and Mrs. Weasley backed into the room carrying a pile of freshly laundered robes.

"Ginny said the booklists had come at last," she said, glancing around at all the envelopes as she made her way over to the bed and started sorting the robes into two piles. "If you give them to me I'll take them over to Diagon Alley this afternoon and get your books while you're packing. Ron, I'll have to get you more pajamas, these are at least six inches too short, I can't believe how fast you're growing...what color would you like?"

"Get him red and gold to match his badge," George said, smirking.

"Match his what?" Mrs. Weasley said absently, rolling up a pair of maroon socks and placing them on Ron's pile.

"His badge," Fred said, with the air of getting the worst over quickly. "His lovely shiny new prefect's badge.

Fred's words took a moment to penetrate Mrs. Weasley's preoccupation with pajamas.

"His...but...Ron, you're not...?'

Ron held up his badge.

Mrs. Weasley let out a shriek just like Hermione's.

"I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Oh, Ron, how wonderful! A prefect! That's everyone in the family!"

"What are Fred and I, next-door neighbors?" George said indignantly as his mother pushed him aside and flung her arms around her youngest son.

"Wait until your father hears! Ron, I'm so proud of you, what wonderful news, you could end up Head Boy just like Bill and Percy, it's the first step! Oh, what a thing to happen in the middle of al this worry, I'm just thrilled, oh, Ronnie -"

Fred and George were both making loud retching noises behind her back but Mrs. Weasley did not notice; arms tight around Ron's neck, she was kissing him all over his face, which had turned a brighter scarlet than his badge.

"Mum...don't...Mum, get a grip..." he muttered, trying to push her away.

She let go of him and said breathlessly, "Well, what will it be? We gave Percy an owl, but you've already got one, of course."

"W-what do you mean?" Ron said, looking as though he did not dare believe his ears.

"You've got to have a reward for this!" Mrs. Weasley said fondly. "How about a nice new set of dress robes?"

"We've already bought him some," said Fred sourly, who looked as though he sincerely regretted this generosity.

"Or a new cauldron, Charlie's old one's rusting through, or a new rat, you always liked Scabbers -"

"Mum," Ron said hopefully, "can I have a new broom?"

Mrs. Weasley's face fell slightly; broomsticks were expensive.

"Not a really good one!" Ron hastened to add. "Just - just a new one for a change..."

Mrs. Weasley hesitated, then smiled.

"Of course you can...Well, I'd better get going if I've got a broom to buy too. I'll see you all later...Little Ronnie, a prefect! And don't forget to pack your trunks...A prefect...Oh, I'm all of a dither!"

She gave Ron yet another kiss on the cheek, sniffed loudly, and bustled from the room.

Fred and George exchanged looks.

"You don't mind if we don't kiss you, do you, Ron?" Fred said in a falsely anxious voice.

"We could curtsy, if you like," George said.

"Oh, shut up," Ron said, scowling at them.

"Or what?" Fred said, an evil grin spreading across his face. "Going to put us in detention?"

"I'd love to see him try," George sniggered.

"He could if you don't watch out!" Hermione said angrily.

Fred and George burst out laughing, and Ron muttered, "Drop it, Hermione."

"We're going to have to watch our step, George," Fred said, pretending to tremble, "with these two on our case..."

"Yeah, it looks like our law-breaking days are finally over," George said, shaking his head.

And with another loud crack, the twins Disapparated.

"Those two!" Hermione said furiously, staring up at the ceiling, through which we could now hear Fred and George roaring with laughter in the room upstairs. "Don't pay any attention to them, Ron, they're only jealous!"

Cassia rolled her eyes again. "Somehow I doubt that." She left the room.

 **Cassia's POV**

I walked out of the room, leaving my brother, Ron, and the Weasleys to their own devices. _Probably not a good idea with Fred and George around. They can be unpredictable sometimes._ I headed across the hall, stopping at the third door on my right. Cedric's room. The door was open, so I curiously poked my head inside. Cedric was busy packing the last of his belongings. I saw him pick something up from his bedside table and slip it into the pocket of a shirt he had been folding.

I gently knocked on the door, making him jump. The shirt, only half folded, slipped out of his grip and fell into the trunk. Cedric looked up at me and then put a hand over his heart, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Sorry," I apologized. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"Don't worry about it, love," he said, picking up the shirt and rising to his feet. I entered the room and, standing on tiptoe, gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Are you, er...upset that you weren't picked to be a prefect?" he asked. There was an apprehensive edge to his voice, like he was afraid of crossing a line with me.

"How did you -?"

Cedric chuckled. "The walls here aren't exactly soundproof."

"True," I agreed.

"So are you? Upset, I mean?"

I shrugged. "Yes and no. I mean, I'm a little jealous, but I'm happy for Ron and Hermione." I decided to get off the subject. "I see you're almost done packing."

"Yeah," he said, "Just a couple of things left to put away."

"Want any help?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No, I think I'm good. But thanks for offering."

"What was that thing you took off your nightstand?" The question vomited out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

Cedric looked up, meeting my eyes again. "You saw it?"

"Not exactly. I just saw you stash it away," I told him.

He reached into the front pocket of the shirt in his hands, and pulled the mysterious object out. "This thing?" he asked, showing it to me.

I took a good look at it. It strongly resembled the prefect badge I'd seen him wearing for the past two years, except it had the letters "H.B" superimposed on either side of the badger.

I gasped. "They chose you to be Head Boy this year?!"

A huge grin formed on his face. "Yeah. I wasn't sure when to tell you, though."

"Oh, my gosh! Congratulations!" I wrapped my arms around him. "I'm so happy for you!"

He kissed the top of my head. "Thanks, love."

"Just watch out - I might 'break in' to see you at night," I playfully warned.

He chuckled. "I look forward to it."

 **Harry's POV**

Ron didn't seem bothered in the slightest by Fred and George's teasing him. "They've always said only prats become prefects...Still," he added on a happier note, "they've never had new brooms! I wish I could go with Mum and choose...She'll never be able to afford a Nimbus, but there's the new Cleansweep out, that'd be great...Yeah, I think I'll go and tell her I like the Cleansweep, just so she knows..."

He dashed from the room, leaving Hermione and I alone.

For some reason, I found I did not want to look at Hermione. I turned to my bed, picked up the pile of clean robes Mrs. Weasley had laid on it and crossed the room to my trunk.

"Harry?" Hermione said tentatively.

"Well done, Hermione," I said, so heartily it did not sound like my voice at all, and, still not looking at her, "brilliant. Prefect. Great."

"Thanks," Hermione said. "Erm - Harry - could I borrow Hedwig so I can tell Mum and Dad? They'll be really pleased - I mean prefect is something they can understand."

"Yeah, no problem," I said, still in the horrible hearty voice that did not belong to me. "Take her!"

I leaned over my trunk, laid the robes on the bottom of it and pretended to be rummaging for something while Hermione crossed to the wardrobe and called Hedwig down. A few moments passed; I heard the door closed but remained bent double, listening; the only sounds I heard were the blank picture on the wall sniggering again and the wastepaper basket in the corner coughing up the owl droppings.

I straightened up and looked behind me. Hermione had left and Hedwig had gone. I hurried across the room, closed the door, then returned slowly to my bed and sank on to it, gazing unseeingly at the foot of the wardrobe.

I had forgotten completely about prefects being chosen in the fifth year. I had been too anxious about the possibility of being expelled to spare a thought for the fact that badges must be winging their way towards certain people. But if I had remembered...if I had thought about it...what would I have expected?

Not this, said a small and truthful voice inside my head.

I screwed up my face and buried it in my hands. I could not lie to myself; if I had known the prefect badge was on its way, I would have expected it to come to me, not Ron. Then again, if anyone deserved to be prefect, it was Cassia. She was a better fit for the title. Did this make me as arrogant as Draco Malfoy? Did I think Cassia and myself superior to everyone else? Did I realy believe we were better than Ron?

No, said the small voice defiantly.

Was that true? I wondered, anxiously probing my own feelings.

We're better at Quidditch, said the voice. But I'm not better at anything else.

That was definitely true, I thought; I was no better than Ron in lessons. But what about outside lessons? What about those adventures me, Cassia, Ron, and Hermione had had together since starting at Hogwarts, often risking much worse than expulsion?

Well, Ron and Hermione were with us most of the time, said the voice in my head.

Not all the time, though, I argued with myself. They didn't fight Quirrell with us. They didn't take on Riddle and the Basilisk. They didn't get rid of all those dementors the night Sirius escaped. They weren't in that graveyard with us, the night Voldemort returned...

And the same feeling of ill-usage that had overwhelmed me on the night we had arrived rose again. We've definitely done more, I thought indignantly. We've done more than either of them!

But maybe, said the small voice fairly, maybe Dumbledore doesn't choose prefects because they've got themselves into a load of dangerous situations...Maybe he chooses them for other reasons...Ron must have something you don't...

I opened my eyes and stared through my fingers at the wardrobe's clawed feet, remembering what Fred had said.

"No one in their right mind would make Ron a prefect..."

I gave a small snort of laughter. A second later I felt sickened with myself.

Ron had not asked Dumbledore to give him the prefect badge. This was not Ron's fault. Was I, Harry, Ron's best friend in the world, going to sulk because I didn't have a badge, laugh with the twins behind Ron's back, ruin this for Ron when, for the first time, he had beaten Cass and I at something?

At this point I heard Ron's footsteps on the stairs again. I stood up, straightened my glasses, and hitched a grin on to my face as Ron bounded back through the door.

"Just caught her!" he said happily. "She says she'll get the Cleansweep if she can."

"Cool," I said, and I was relieved to hear that my voice had stopped sounding hearty. "Listen - Ron - well done, mate."

The smile faded off Ron's face.

"I never thought it would be me!" he said, shaking his head. "I thought it would be you!"

"Nah, I've caused too much trouble," I said, echoing Fred. "Cassia would've been a better pick."

"Yeah," Ron said, "yeah, I suppose...Well, we'd better get our trunks packed, hadn't we?"

It was odd how widely our possessions seemed to have scattered themselves since we had arrived. It took us most of the afternoon to retrieve our books and belongings from all over the house and stow them back inside our school trunks. I noticed that Ron kept moving his prefect's badge around, first placing it on his bedside table, then putting it into his jeans pocket, then taking it out and lying it on his folded robes, as though to see the effect of the red on the black. Only when Fred and George dropped in and offered to attach it to his forehead with a permanent sticking charm did he wrap it tenderly in his maroon socks and lock it in his trunk.

* * *

The next day, we were all making our way through King's Cross Station, accompanied by various members of the Order. Cedric, Dora, and Moody were escorting Cassia and I.

"Padfoot, are you barking mad?! You'll blow the entire operation!" Moody hissed as Sirius - in his Animagus form - appeared between us.

"I would've called him out on how lame his pun was if this was a joking matter," Cassia whispered, making me bite back a laugh.

Sirius trotted ahead of us and disappeared into a small waiting area. Though he was out of sight from the Muggles, we could see his shadow on the wall as it changed shape.

"And I thought Fred and George were rebels," Cassia muttered, shaking her head as she followed me away from Moody and towards the waiting area. Sure enough, when we came inside, Sirius was there in his human form.

"Sirius, what are you doing here?" I asked, closing the door behind me. "If somebody sees you -"

"I had to see you off, didn't I? What's life without a little risk?" He beckoned us to come closer. All three of us sat down on a bench together.

"Sirius, it's bad enough we're facing the possibility of a war. The last thing we need is for you to wind up back in Azkaban again," Cassia objected.

"Oh, don't worry about me," he said. "Anyway -" I watched him dig around in one of his pockets, pulling something out. It looked like an old, folded up piece of paper. "- I wanted you to have this."

I took the paper and gently unfolded it. Cassia glanced over my shoulder. It turned out to be an old photograph.

 **Cassia's POV**

I peered over Harry's shoulder at the photograph Sirius had just given us. There were several faces I recognized; Sirius (obviously, he was front and center), Remus Lupin, Hagrid at the very back, Wormtail, Dumbledore, Moody, and right next to Sirius were my mother and father. I willed myself not to cry.

"The original Order of the Phoenix." Sirius pointed to a woman standing far to the right in the photo. "Marlene McKinnon. She was killed two weeks after this was taken. Voldemort wiped out her entire family." He glanced at a man and woman who were positioned to the left of Marlene. "And Frank and Alice Longbottom."

"Neville's parents," Harry muttered.

"They suffered a fate worse than death, if you ask me," Sirius told us. I knew all too well what they had gone through, but I didn't say anything about it. He sighed. "It's been fourteen years, and still, a day doesn't go by I don't miss your dad."

"Do you really think there's going to be a war, Sirius?" Harry asked, looking up from the photo.

Sirius gave a hesitant nod. "It...feels like it did before." I tried to hand the photo back to Sirius, but he refused. "No, keep it. Anyway, I suppose you're the young ones now."

I glanced at the door to see Moody and Dora were standing outside it. Guess they saw Harry and I sneak away. We each gave Sirius a big hug before leaving the waiting area to get to the platform.

* * *

The train ride was pretty uneventful, but Harry looked a little shaken when we got on board for some reason. I had decided wait on asking him about it.

After we got off the train, we started to walk toward the carriages, when Malfoy decided to come over and harass us, specifically Harry and I.

"Why's the Ministry letting you two walk around free?" he asked.

"I've got a better question, Malfoy," I retaliated. "Why the hell did Dumbledore choose a stuck-up, prissy, self-centered, bullying jerk like you to become a prefect?"

Of course, Malfoy ignored my comment and continued to taunt us. "Better enjoy your freedom while you can. I expect there's a padded cell in St. Mungo's reserved for you and a spot in Azkaban with your brother's name on it."

I lunged at Malfoy, and I would have wrestled him to the ground if Cedric hadn't grabbed my arms and pinned them behind my back. I could see, out of the corner of my eye, that Ron was holding Harry in a similar position.

Malfoy shook his head and walked away with his goons following him. "What'd I tell you? Complete nutters," he said loud enough for us to hear.

"Just stay away from us!" Harry yelled.

"I liked him better when he was a ferret," I commented, rolling my eyes. _At least then he didn't get under my skin._ I made a mental note to look for that spell in my Transfiguration book.

We finally reached the carriages, most of which were already en route to the school. Just two carriages were left, and what's more, one of them was completely full. The last carriage had only one occupant, a female student with waist-length blonde hair, but she was too absorbed in her magazine - which, I might add, she was reading upside down - to notice us. I saw Harry staring at one of the girls in the occupied carriage. Even though she had a different hairstyle, it was easy to recognize Cho Chang. She flashed a smile at Harry before her carriage took off in the direction of the school.

"Hey, guys," Neville greeted as he came over, carrying a Mimbulus Mimbletonia plant in one arm.

"Hi, Neville," we all said at once.

My eyes landed on a creature standing right in front of the carriage. I don't really know how else to describe it except...it looked like a skinny, hairless horse with batlike wings.

"What's that?" I heard Harry ask. _Looks like he can see it, too._

"What's what?" Ron questioned.

Harry pointed to the creature. "That, pulling the carriage."

"Don't tell me you guys can't see it," I said, looking back at Neville, Cedric, Hermione, and Ron.

"I hate to break it to you, love, but I don't see anything except the carriage," Cedric said apologetically.

"Nothing's pulling the carriage, Harry," Hermione said. "It's pulling itself, like always."

I was about to argue, but then I realized how ridiculous it would be. They'd think Harry and I were hallucinating or something.

"You're not going mad," the girl sitting in the carriage suddenly spoke. We all looked up at her to see her lowering her magazine. "I can see them, too. You're just as sane as I am."

One by one, we climbed up into the carriage. It was a tight squeeze with 7 of us, but we managed. Mainly because I sat on Cedric's lap.

Hermione took the initiative to introduce us to the girl. "Everyone, this is Loony Love-" She paused, aware that she had almost outright called her a mean name. "Luna Lovegood."

"Nice to meet you, Luna," I greeted politely, earning a smile from her in return.

After several moments of awkward silence, Hermione attempted to cover up her slipup with a compliment. "That's an interesting necklace."

Luna fingered the pendant around her neck, which was basically a butterbeer cork tied on a string. But I decided to cut her some slack. "It's a charm, actually. Keeps away the Nargles," she said. "I'm hungry. I hope there's pudding."

"What's a Nargle?" Neville whispered as the carriage started toward the castle.

"Yeah, what on Earth _is_ a Nargle?" Cedric echoed.

"No idea," Hermione whispered back. I guessed they were like the 'invisible' winged horses Harry and I had previously seen. Maybe only certain people could see them.


End file.
